


Tales from Pete's World 3 - Reluctant Celebrities

by SciFiFanForever



Series: Tales from Pete's World [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 16:54:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 60,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2032656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SciFiFanForever/pseuds/SciFiFanForever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who is Alistair, the Tylers' non-buttling butler? How do Rose and her metacrisis husband cope with the media interest? Let’s find out with this retrospective look at the Tyler household in Pete’s World, with a Torchwood adventure thrown in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Parkinson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sub plots got a bit complex and I had a bit of writers block so I watched ‘Alias’, and the ideas started to flow. I can see the Sydney Bristow character as a Torchwood trained Rose Tyler, all confident and ‘kick ass’. I would love to see the metacrisis Doctor as the dashing CIA agent Michael Vaughan, but I’m afraid he would probably be the Techno Geek Marshall Flinkman (complete with runaway gob).
> 
> So fasten your seatbelts, It’s a bumpy ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits: A Who in Whoville for writing ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face’ It gave me the idea for the Parkinson interview. (Check out theTARDIS-Blue Like Jazz series)
> 
> Also, her Doctor and Rose characters in that series liking the show ‘Alias’ made me go and have a look and now I’m hooked ( I streamed all 5 seasons back to back).
> 
> Thanks to Thanatosx49 for loving the Alistair character which prompted me to write his back story.

** **

** Chapter 1 **

 

The TARDIS slowly materialised in the basement workshop of Dr. John Smith, Northumberland Place, Notting Hill, London. The occupants could be heard chatting amicably as the blue wooden door opened inward.

 

“You’re doing fine Love. A bit more practice on the landings and you’ll be able to land on a penny,” John said as Rose stepped out with bags of shopping. John came out behind her with the ‘baby bag’ and their eight month old son Eyulf in a papoose on his back.

 

Young EJ was chuckling, as his fathers manic movements were like a rollercoaster ride. Rose liked John to use the papoose as it tended to slow him down a bit and make his movements a bit more ‘normal’.

 

“Hi Donna, we’re home,” she called out to the house computer.

 

“Hello you lot. Did you have a nice time on Shan Shen?” Donna-the-house asked them.

 

“It was brilliant,” John enthused. “I think EJ still has a cream moustache from the frothy milk shake. I’ll upload the TARDIS’s recordings to your server later.”

 

“Oooh, that’ll be lovely. Thank you.”

 

“How are things here?” Rose asked her. While they were off shift from Torchwood Special Operations, they had spent a week on Shan Shen but only been away from Earth for three days.

 

“All quiet. You have some post, which is still by the front door. Brendan from next door called around to say they were having a party last night. I told them the noise wouldn’t be a problem, and your mother phoned to remind you that it’s the Parkinson Party tonight at the Mansion.”

 

“Oh yeah, it’s Pete’s interview tonight,” John said as he carefully extracted his son from the papoose. “What time have we got to be there?”

 

“The meal is at 7:30 and the programme is on at 9:00.” Pete Tyler, being such a high profile, media friendly Millionaire, had been approached by the BBC to do an interview with Michael Parkinson.

 

“Oh great, that means we can have Saturday afternoon in front of the telly watching the sport. I’ll put EJ down for his afternoon nap then,” John said.

 

Rose rolled her eyes. To say he didn’t do domestic when he was the ‘other’ Doctor, this version of him had taken to it like a duck to water. She often thought it was the Donna in him.

 

“I’ll put the kettle on,” Rose replied.

 

They cuddled up on the sofa with their cups of tea. Rose opened the various letters, which were the electricity statement, a reminder for the car insurance and various mail shots for things they would never need. John found some cricket from Sydney, Australia to watch via satellite.

 

‘Not that domestic then’, she thought with a wry smile. ‘Leave the bills and stuff to the wife’. At least it was sport he was watching which usually kept him quiet.

 

Rose tended to watch her favourite dramas when he wasn’t around.  Science fiction shows usually had him in fits of laughter, and a period drama would have him annoyingly point out the errors, telling her he was there so he should know. And don’t get her started on murder/mysteries, what with him knowing who did it after all the suspects were introduced.

So the sedate pace of the cricket was fine, and they enjoyed a quiet afternoon relaxing after their hectic week on Shan Shen, before getting ready to leave for the party that evening.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

18:12, and the blue Renault Clio reversed out of its allotted parking place and drove toward the security barrier, the headlights illuminating the armed soldier on guard duty that evening.

 

The driver held their ID out for the guard, who was using his torch to check the seats of the car. He then used it to look at the drivers face.

 

“You off home tonight?” the guard asked as he looked at the ID.

 

“Yes. It’s my week off,” the driver replied.

 

“Lucky you.” The guard handed back the ID. “Doin’ anythin’ nice?”

 

“I wish! Decorating.”

 

The guard laughed. “You take it easy, you hear. Good night.”

 

“Thanks. Good night.”

 

As the barrier rose, the car pulled onto the road and headed for London.

 

In a residential part of London, Nicholas Fisher, or Fishy as he was known at the local constabulary, was out for his evening activity of petty theft.

 

He was an opportunist, taking anything that wasn’t glued, screwed or bolted down. He considered that he was providing a service to the community, in so much that if people weren’t careful with their belongings, then he would take them and look after them for you.

 

One of his favourite opportunities were the traffic lights at the busy junction on the main road, where there was always a long line of traffic. He crossed the road and approached a Renault Clio with just the driver in the car. He took a small hammer out of the pocket of his hoodie.

 

As he walked past the passenger side, he saw a bag on the passenger seat. With one swift action, he smashed the side window with the hammer, grabbed the bag and ran across the road, down a footpath between the houses and disappeared.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“My first guest this evening is an entrepreneur and self made millionaire,” Michael Parkinson said, starting his introduction to camera.

 

“From humble beginnings on a council estate, where he made and sold health drinks that appealed to the public’s taste buds, to an unexpected turn of events that found him appointed director of the high tech Torchwood Institute. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome, Peter Tyler.”

 

The band started to play the theme tune. The studio audience applauded as Parky stood up and Pete Tyler jogged down the curved staircase to the studio floor. He shook Parky’s hand and sat in the first ‘guest’ chair.

 

“It’s Daddy on the telly!” Tony told everyone in the lounge at Tyler mansion.

 

“Don’tcha think he looks more handsome on the telly Mum?” Rose asked as they sat watching the recorded show.

 

Jackie was curled up on the sofa next to Pete, she lifted her hand to stroke his cheek.

 

“Nah, he always looks handsome to me,” she said. He leaned towards her and they kissed.

 

“It took hours in makeup and a tub of Polyfiller to achieve that look,” Pete said with a grin.

 

On the TV, Parky had started the interview.

 

“Healthy foods and drinks always seemed to be unpalatable. I saw kids drinking gallons of fizzy drinks full of sugar and additives and thought ‘what if I could get the taste right, would they drink a healthy drink’?” Pete explained.

 

“And that was that!” Parky replied.

 

“Pretty much yeah, although, it didn’t happen overnight.”

 

“Where did your catch phrase come from?”

 

Pete laughed. “That actually came from Jackie. She thought I was a waste of space. The flat was full of bottles and jars of ingredients and she kept asking me when I was going to get rid of it all. ‘Once I get the taste right, this stuff will fly off the shelves’, I told her. She just looked at me and said, ‘I can trust you on that can I?’”

 

The audience laughed as Pete gave his now famous grin and thumbs up.

 

“Did you really think Dad was a waste of space Mum?” Rose asked.

 

“It was like living with Del Boy Trotter,” she said rolling her eyes at the memory of the cluttered flat. Rose smiled, she had also seen their flat when the Doctor had taken her back to 1987 in the old universe.

 

Parky had moved on to the events of February 1st, 2007 and quickly skipped over the gruesome Cybermen attacks, and focussed on Jackie’s birthday party.

 

On the screen behind them, a security camera photograph of Rose and the Doctor dressed as serving staff appeared. Pete laughed and dropped into the cover story created by Torchwood security.

 

“Rose came over from Switzerland with her new boyfriend to surprise her Mum on her 39th birthday.” Pete air quoted the 39 with his fingers, which got a laugh from Parky and the audience. “I got into a lot of trouble for telling everyone she was 40.”

 

Pete looked back at the photograph. “They snuck in disguised as waiting staff, but before they could surprise Jackie.... Well everyone knows what happened next.” Pete had a momentary pang of guilt and remorse as he thought about ‘his’ Jackie.

 

Parky skillfully redirected the interview to keep the mood light hearted.

 

“You hadn’t met Dr. Smith at this point had you?”

 

“No. I can honestly say that the pair of them turning up at the house was a complete surprise,” Pete said with a smile. “In all the chaos, I managed to call Jackie on her mobile and told her to get out of London and go to Switzerland with Rose.”

 

“Those profilers put a good story together,” Jack interrupted.

 

“And they stayed there for three years,” Parky said, reading from his notes.

 

“Yeah, Rose was finishing her studies at college, and I was busy sorting out Torchwood and Cybus Industries. And, absence makes the heart grow fonder,” he said with a smile.

 

“Oh yes, I understand President Jones asked you personally to clean up the Torchwood Institute and Cybus Industries.”

 

“Yeah, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The two organisations had become very single minded and set in their ways. This meant that they had developed their own agendas, and corruption was rife.”  

 

“And you have been very successful in turning them around,” Parky complemented.

 

“I hope so,” Pete said. “Torchwood is more transparent now. We still have secrets, but I have monthly meetings with the President to report our status. I wanted Cybus Industries to account for its wrongdoings and changed the profile to a philanthropic organisation, producing goods that benefited society and the planet.”

 

The audience broke into spontaneous applause, many of them having relatives or friends that had been affected by the Cybermen attacks of 2007. Pete just sat silently nodding his appreciation to the audience.

 

Parky waited for the audience to show their appreciation for his guest before continuing. “And then of course, a year after your wife and daughter returned from Switzerland, your son appeared.”

 

“Yeah, you could say I was really pleased to see my wife again,” Pete said with a smirk. The audience cheered and applauded.

 

“Peter Tyler!” Jackie said as she playfully slapped his arm. “Fancy sayin’ that on national TV.”

 

“What?” he said, feigning innocence. John, Rose and Jack were in fits of laughter. Jackie had been in the green room at the studio watching the recording, but still felt she had to protest her displeasure to her guests.

 

If truth be known though, she wasn’t displeased at all. The thought of millions of people knowing they went at it like a pair of rabbits when they’d got back from Canary Wharf was quite a turn on.

 

“How do Rose and Tony get along? There’s quite an age difference there,” Parky asked, bringing Jackie ‘back in the room’, and back to the interview.

 

“They adore each other,” Pete told him and the audience ‘ahhhed’. “And John spends a lot of time with him, showing him sciencey stuff. He’s a really bright lad.” Pete had a proud grin on his face.

 

“And of course, you’re a grandfather now. How does that feel?” Parky asked him with a smile.

 

“Old!” Pete said, which got a laugh from the audience.

 

“Your daughter and son-in-law attract a lot of media attention, how do they feel about that?”

 

“You’d probably have to ask them that question, they’re very private people and I think they try to ignore it. They don’t really understand all the interest in them.”

 

“Well they did make a sudden appearance on the scene and not much is known about them. Maybe they’d like to come on the show and tell their story,” Parky suggested. He knew a ratings winner when he saw it and those two would win hands down.

 

The audience cheered and applauded, showing their desire to have them on the show as well.

 

“Oh no,” John groaned. He was not happy about telling their cover story on national TV.

 

“The profilers say that if you did the show, the tabloids and gossip mags would lose interest in you,” Pete told him as Parky wound up the interview.

 

“Huh!” is all John said. Rose smiled at his grumpiness before turning to her Mum.

 

“So were your lives running parallel up to the point where I was born?”

 

“Pretty much, yeah. It’s a bit spooky really how we made similar choices and decisions.” Jackie started reminiscing about her life with her ‘other’ Pete. She and her ‘new’ Pete had already compared notes on their early lives.

 

Jackie got to the bit where ‘her’ Pete was killed, and Rose told how she had cradled him as he died. John pulled her into a hug as she wiped a tear from her eye.

 

Pete gripped Jackie’s hand and looked intently into her eyes.

 

“You Okay?” he asked her. She smiled and nodded.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine; I’ve got you back now. Tell them what happened to you two in this world after that day.”

 

“Well, it was about a year later and my last ditch attempt to get it right before Jackie threw everything out of the window, me included.” Jackie snuggled up to him on the sofa.

 

“I’d kept notes over the years of all my attempts and thought ‘what the hell’, let’s throw it all together and see what happens. So I put all the different flavours together and made up a batch with sparkling water.” He smiled at the memory.

 

“I couldn’t wait for Jackie to get back from town for her to try it, it was brilliant. I suppose you could call it a happy accident. We started bottling it and selling it on Choumert Road market in Peckham, then to the local independent supermarkets. Soon, that gave us enough money to buy more stock. I went to the national supermarkets with samples and talked to their buyers.”

 

While Rose’s Mum had been forced to stay in the flat on the Powell estate, scraping a living by hairdressing from home, Pete told them how he and ‘his’ Jackie had bought a house and a bottling factory in Hounslow. With some clever marketing, Pete’s roguish smile and catch phrase, he quickly made his first million.

 

“The company was in great shape when Lumic proposed a management buyout.” Pete visibly grimaced at the name of Lumic. “Overnight I joined the list of the top ten richest people in Britain. That’s when I bought this place for Jackie. It was my way of saying thanks for sticking with me and believing in me.”

 

“And did that sarky butler of yours come with the house?” Jackie asked him with a smile.

  
“Well, no, but that’s another story....”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 20 years previously. **

 

Sheila Morrison was slouched on the threadbare sofa watching daytime TV. The sofa had seen better days when she had been given it by some well meaning Christian outfit, but what the hell, beggars can’t be choosers.

 

She was watching some young lad claim that his girlfriend had slept with his best mate and that the child wasn’t his. Sheila had only had sex once when she got pregnant, so she felt that gave her the moral high ground.

 

“Should’ve used an asprin as a contraceptive pill love,” she told the teenager on the screen. “Y’ hold it between yer knees,” she said with a chuckle. Her mother had told her that one and it still made her laugh. Pity she hadn’t followed the advice though.

 

That sperm provider of a man, (she refused to call him a father to her son) had run a mile when he found out she was pregnant. She never saw him again. Benny The Fence said he had heard that he was doing a stretch in Wormwood Scrubs for robbery and GBH.

 

It was probably for the best that the bastard wasn’t around. No telling what he’d have done to his son with that short temper of his and those large fists.

 

She was interrupted from her viewing by a tap-tap-tap of the letterbox.

 

“Oh who the bloody ‘ell’s that?”

 

She shuffled down the short hallway to the front door and opened it to find the community police officer standing there with a hand on her son’s shoulder.

 

“Hello Sheila,” he said in a resigned sort of way.

 

“What do you want?” She looked down at her son Andrew.

 

“What’s he been up to this time?”

 

“Well, as he’s stood here, he’s obviously been bunkin’ off school, and Mrs Kaur at the shop says she caught him nickin’ sweets, although I can’t find any evidence of that.”

 

Sheila scowled at her son. “Get in here y’ little shit.”

 

“You’ll be havin’ a visit from the truant officer and probably social services as well,” the officer said as she slammed the door in his face.

 

“Glad to be of service,” he said to the door.

 

“WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT NICKIN’ STUFF?” she shouted. “Y’ don’t nick off family!” She clipped him around the ear. “Y’ only nick off yer friends if yer can get away with it, or if yer can do without ‘em.” Another clip around the ear. “And don’t nick on yer own doorstep!” A final clip around the ear to get the message home.

 

“Mrs Kaur’s shop of all places,” she said disgusted. “I have to go in there to get me beer and ciggies, y’ little shit.... Go on get out of me sight.”

 

Sheila shuffled back to the sofa, muttering under her breath. Andrew wasn’t a bad lad really she thought. He was clever, too clever for his own good at times. Quick witted and with a smart mouth. He could be a real smart-aleck at times.

 

She often wished things could be different, that she could give him a better life, but she had no job, no prospects and money was tight. All she could do was try and teach him to be street smart so he could survive out there in the big wide world.

 

Andrew went into his bedroom, his eyes stinging with tears. He wasn’t going to cry, he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. He sat on his bed and with a magicians flourish produced a packet of sweets, apparently out of thin air.

 

Last Christmas, his Mum had managed to nick a Junior Magician Magic Set from the school jumble sale. He was already quite good with his hands; light fingers came in useful when picking pockets.

 

He had started reading the book and practicing with the props provided in the box. He learned very quickly that it was all about misdirection, making the punter see what you wanted them to see, and not what you were actually doing.

 

He started doing ‘find the lady’ and ‘cup and ball’ at school for kid’s dinner money and was making quite a bit of pocket money. A visit to the library got him some books on magic and magicians, and he really started to develop.

 

One magician in particular caught his imagination, Harry Houdini. He could make audiences think he was in mortal danger of drowning, while he was really sitting on a stool reading a newspaper. That was class, and he wanted to be able to do that.

 

Apparently he had also been locked naked in a prison cell. Not only did he escape, but he also moved all the other prisoners around into different cells. Genius!

 


	2. Night of the walking dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose go on a call out to the hospital and Rose scores 15 - love in a game of ‘embarrassment tennis’ (you’ll see what I mean).
> 
> They also find their celebrity status is starting to get in the way of their work.
> 
> If you think young Andy 'the Artful Dodger' has it bad, its about to get a whole lot worse. Also you might want to check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI8PC3hUIEc to see Penn and Teller doing Andy’s cup and ball trick. (It blows me away everytime I see it.)
> 
> Oh, and the plots thicken.

 

** Chapter 2 **

 

 

Nick the Fish, as he liked to be known (not Fishy, that was insulting), was in an alley at the back of some houses. He had the bag on top of a wheelie bin under a streetlight, rummaging through it for anything valuable.

 

Keys! House keys. All he needed was something with an address on it. He found a purse and quickly emptied the money into his pocket. He then examined each of the compartments until he found his goal. A driver’s licence! Brilliant, and the address wasn’t too far away, on the bus. He could use the loose change he’d just found.

 

Sitting on the back seats of the top deck of the bus, Nick looked at the rest of the contents of the bag. A plastic sandwich box, the latest Chat magazine with a photo of that celebrity couple on the front, and a metal thermos flask.

 

No, wait. It wasn’t a thermos. It was a metal cylinder that looked like a thermos. He twisted the top and bottom in opposite directions. There was a ‘click’ and ‘hiss’, and the two halves slowly separated along a central stalk.

 

“What the hell?!” Inside were four test tubes containing a straw coloured liquid. He took one out and held it up to the light. He took the plastic bung off the top and sniffed the contents.

 

“Urgh! Smells like a fart,” he said to himself as the bus pulled up sharp. He spilt some of the liquid over his fingers.

 

“Shit!” He wiped his fingers on the fabric of the seat. “Maybe I can sell it to a joke shop.” He put the test tube back in the container and pressed it shut. He put the ‘thermos’ back in the bag and headed down the bus to get off at the next stop.

 

He walked on the opposite side of the street to the address on the drivers licence. The house was dark and the Clio wasn’t on the drive. If he was quick he could go in through the front door, grab some stuff and run.

 

He crossed the road and walked back up the street, looking for any pedestrians. It was all quiet and he quickly walked up the driveway to the house, opened the front door and stepped inside.

 

He stood still for a moment, listening to the house. He could hear the refrigerator in the kitchen, that was all. The house was empty. And hot! It was hot in here and he was sweating.

 

He ran up the stairs looking for the bedroom. He was after jewellery that he could sell. He put jewellery boxes into the stolen bag, along with money found in the drawers of the bedside tables. He quickly checked the other rooms and found an MP3 player next to an exercise bike.

 

Moving downstairs, he checked the living room for consumer electronics, stuffing as much in the bag as he could. When he was satisfied, he went into the hallway and out through the front door, where he walked straight into a man who was about to press the doorbell.

 

“Who the fuck are you?” the man asked as he grabbed Nicks collar in a vice like grip. “Where’s my sister?”

 

Nick dropped the bag and started kicking and struggling to get free, but the man’s grip wouldn’t budge. Nick turned his head and bit the man’s hand.

 

“Ow! You little bastard.”

 

As soon as the grip was released, Nick sprinted down the drive and flew around the corner, disappearing into the night before the man could even move to chase him.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

The Smith’s Delorian pulled into it’s parking spot in the underground car park of One Canada Square, ready for the start of their eight hour shift at Torchwood One. As they walked towards the elevators, another vehicle came through the barrier. It was a sexy, red Ferrari 458 Italia, the air horns echoing through the car park as the driver saw Rose and John.

 

“Morning Jack,” Rose laughed as he sped by. “Hurry up and park, we’ll hold the lift.”

 

“Thanks gorgeous,” he said through the open window as he pulled into his spot next to ‘Delores’ the DeLorian.

 

In the lift, they chatted about their ordinary lives, a complete contrast to their extraordinary job.

 

“Have you settled into your new flat okay Jack?” Rose asked.

 

He had moved out of Tyler Mansion last week into a luxury penthouse flat overlooking the Thames. Moving his personal possessions had been particularly easy with John and Rose’s help, as they just piled everything from his suite of rooms into the TARDIS and materialised on his balcony.

 

“When’s the flat warming party?” Rose wanted to know, angling for an invite.

 

“Give me a few days to get straight and unpacked and everyone will get an invite. How’s Friday night sound?”

 

“Ooh, that sounds good. Are we free on Friday John?”

 

“Yep, Friday’s good, wouldn’t miss it for the world,” John said with a grin.

 

“I’ll put a note up on the messaging board,” Jack told them.

 

“I see the three of you have made the gossip magazines again,” Jack said with a grin.

 

“Oh, don’t tell me you read that trash,” Rose said with a groan.

 

“Of course! haven’t you seen ‘Men In Black’? It’s the best source of information on unusual happenings. You don’t think the ‘broad sheets’ would print stories on mother-in-laws being abducted by aliens would you?”

 

John had a wistful smile as he thought about his mother-in-law being abducted by aliens, and what some of them he knew about would do to her. Some, she would probably enjoy, knowing Jackie.

 

He realised that Rose was looking at him and his face snapped back to neutral. Rose rolled her eyes and started to laugh.

 

“You can’t fool me,” she told him. “Basic psychology was part of the Metropolitan Police hostage negotiation course I completed, with flying colours I might add.” She was really proud of that.

 

“I know that your sniping and bickering is a cover for your inability to admit your affection for each other. It’s usually seen in people who are emotionally immature or scarred by trauma.”

 

Jack laughed. “She’s got you and Jackie pegged there Doc, bang to rights.” John was about to protest when the lift doors opened on the third floor into the Special Operations Unit.

 

They went through to the locker rooms to change into their black uniforms for the 08:00 shift start. Captain Andy McNab was waiting for everyone to grab a tea or coffee and assemble around the media displays.

 

“Morning people. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend and are ready for another week of weirdness.” He looked at the status displays on the screens.

 

“Black Watch are still out at Wimbledon responding to an emergency landing of a Jathaa Sunglider that developed a star drive fault. Handsome and Numbers, can you head out there now and relieve them so that they can go off shift.”

 

‘Handsome’ had become Jack’s nickname since he’d joined, and his partner Gwen was ‘Numbers’, due to her being a maths genius.

 

“On our way boss,” Jack said and they headed for the elevator. They knew how it felt after a night shift, having to wait for the day shift to come and send you off duty.

 

“Doc, here’s one for you. We’ve had a call from a pathologist at the Republican Hope. They have an interesting corpse that apparently is right up our street. Would you and The Wife go and have a look and see what’s got them spooked?”

 

John and Rose’s nicknames were easy. Dr. John Smith was ‘Doc’ and John always referred to Rose as ‘Wife’ when he was excited about a mission.

 

“That sounds interesting,” John said. “I’ll grab a forensic kit on the way out. Come on then Wife, let’s go see what we can dig up. Oops, wrong choice of words, ‘dig up’ when it’s a corpse involved.”

 

Rose laughed and playfully slapped his arm. “Shut up and get a move on you.”

 

They went up to Forensics so that John could put some of the high tech equipment in a holdall, not that he needed much now, he had most of what he needed in one nifty little device.

 

Their new TARDIS had manufactured a sonic screwdriver for him and he was over the moon. They went down the corridor to John’s lab, which was still quarantined off, and put some snacks in the serving hatch.

 

Rose put in a photo of their now eight month old son EJ, and picked up a shopping list that was waiting for them. ‘Former John’ (as they had decided to call him) was still inside the lab growing the TARDIS and preparing to travel back three months to rescue Rose and EJ from a bunch of religious lizards.

 

“Three more weeks and you’ll be showin’ me how magnificent you are,” Rose said with a smile as she remembered his appearance as her saviour.

 

“Do you mean the rescue, or the celebratory shag after?” he asked with a wicked smile, waggling his eyebrows.

 

She grabbed the lapels of his uniform and pulled him into a full on snog. “I’ll leave you to work that one out,” she said in a sultry voice. “But here’s a hint. The Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS? The stuff of legend!”

 

At the Republican Hope Hospital, John and Rose went to the reception desk and asked for Dr. Emily Patterson, consultant pathologist for the hospital.

 

“She’s in the isolation ward on the third floor,” the receptionist told them, and then hesitated. “Excuse me for asking, you’re the Smiths aren’t you? Y’know, the ones in the magazines?”

 

“Er, yes we are,” John replied, smiling. “Thank you for noticing,” he added and then turned to Rose. “Mmmm, a corpse in isolation? That’s intriguing.”

 

At the door to the isolation ward, they pressed the call button for attention and a voice came out of the speaker.

 

“Can I help you?” the voice asked.

 

“Probably not,” John said, grinning at Rose. “But I think we can help you. We’re from Torchwood, looking for Dr. Patterson.”

 

“Just a moment.... Dr. Patterson is coming out.”

 

After a short pause, the door clicked and a young, attractive woman with dark hair in a ponytail opened it wide.

 

“Hello, Emily Patterson, thank you for coming.” She held out her hand.

 

“John Smith,” he said shaking the proffered hand.

 

“Rose Smith.” She shook hands as well.

 

“Of course you are, I’m a bit of a fan,” she said with a sheepish smile. John and Rose inwardly groaned.

 

“So what can we do for you?” John asked. “Something about an unusual corpse.”

 

“Very unusual. Come through.” She led them down a corridor and stopped outside a waist height window with closed horizontal blinds. Rose gasped, and John raised his eyebrows in surprise when she opened them.

 

Strapped to the bed was a thin, grey skinned man in the remains of a white police evidence overall. He had dark rings around his yellow eyes, and foaming spittle around his mouth.

 

“Oh, I thought you said it was an unusual corpse,” John said.

 

“I did, and you’re looking at it. He was brought in dead last night from the police cells and put in the mortuary. The poor technician this morning had to change his trousers when he heard him groaning and thrashing about.”

 

“Oh My God!” Rose said slowly. “Is that.... a zombie?” Rose thought back to her second time trip with the Doctor, they had encountered creatures that could reanimate the dead. They were called ‘Gelth’.

 

John saw the look in her eyes and felt what she was thinking telepathically. He shook his head to reassure her.

 

“No visible gas or energy emissions. Looking at the monitor, there’s no pulse, blood pressure or oxygen saturation. He’s dead but his body doesn’t seem to know it,” John observed.

 

“Exactly! His signs are reminiscent of rabies, he’s like a wild animal. It took four security guards to restrain him and he tried to bite all of them. How can a body function without a circulatory or nervous system?”

 

“Who is he.... I mean ‘was’ he?” Rose asked.

 

“The police say his name is Nicholas Fisher,” Dr. Patterson said. “He was arrested for breaking and entering.”

 

“Can we enter the room for a closer inspection?” John asked the doctor.

 

“Only if you use the suits in the wall over there.”

 

To the left of the window were two hatches that had biohazard suits attached by a long tube. You stepped into the suit and the connecting tube extended into the room like a concertina.

 

“Okay,” John agreed. “Do you have blood and tissue samples?”

 

“Yes, they’re in the fridge in the lab.”

 

“Good, we’ll need to take some with us back to Torchwood,” John said.

 

They suited up and walked towards the bed. The dead man became more agitated as they approached.

 

Rose pulled her arms inside the suit and held her scanner up to the face visor. The scanner took a rapid series of photographs that were automatically transmitted to the image labs at Torchwood.

 

John was also scanning with his sonic screwdriver through the suit visor, looking at the electromagnetic spectrum to see if he could find anything that might explain how a dead man could do a pretty good imitation of being alive.

 

“Okay, I’m done,” Rose said.

 

“Yeah, me too. Let’s get those samples and get back to HQ.”

 

They walked backwards to the hatches and climbed out into the corridor. John then rummaged in his holdall and found a sealable biohazard container.

 

“If you could put the samples in this for me we’ll be on our way. Make sure no one enters that room, and please let me know if anything changes.”

 

Dr. Patterson left to get the samples while John and Rose got ready to leave.

 

“What do you think it is John?”

 

“I’m thinking its biological, some kind of pathogen. I can’t detect any alien energies or chemicals like we saw with the Gelth back in Cardiff.”

 

“A pathogen? What kind of infection could do that?”

 

“Wellll, the closest thing I’ve seen on Earth is the lancet liver fluke. It infects a snail that forms a cyst around it and excretes it. An unsuspecting ant comes along and eats the cyst.”

 

“Sounds lovely,” Rose said, making a disgusted face.

 

“Ah, but it gets worse. The juvenile flukes take over the ant and turn it into a zombie, making it climb to the top of a blade of grass and wait to get eaten by a grazing animal. The flukes invade the animals liver and ‘hey presto’, the whole cycle begins again.”

 

“Oh God, that’s horrible John. If it’s something like that then we are in serious trouble.”

 

“You spotted that did you? We have to get back and find out what we’re dealing with.” While they were waiting for Dr. Patterson to return,  John thought about her earlier memory of 19th century Cardiff. “Oh, and Rose. That time back in Cardiff, I was wrong, and I was rude to you. I’m sorry.”

 

Rose was a bit confused by his admission, because her most important memory of that trip was when he said she was beautiful. It was the first inclination she had been given that he actually fancied her, ‘even for a human’.

 

“What about?” she asked, moving close and looking up into his eyes.

 

“Y’know, recycling dead bodies. Back then I was an angry, battle weary Time Lord. Now, having this human body, I totally get it. One life, one body, one owner. Your bodies…. No, our bodies are more than transport vehicles, they are an expression of the soul inside.”

 

Rose closed the remaining distance and pressed against him. “Now you’re gettin’ it,” she purred with a smile.

 

“Yes,” he squeaked, getting his voice back under control before continuing. “You decorate them with hair do’s, makeup, tattoo’s, and may I say some very provocative clothing. Did I ever tell you how nice you looked  in that period dress?” His nether regions were starting to respond to the memory. ‘Damn this traitorous human body’ he thought to himself.

 

“I remember you tellin’ me I was beautiful…. For a human,” she teased. She would never let him forget that. “And I didn’t think you liked that dress, because when I had that replica made by Mum’s designer for your first birthday party, you nearly ruined it when you ripped it off me. Fancy leavin’ me lyin’ there in just my stockings and ankle high boots.”

 

Oh God, that did it. ‘Get down boy, get down. Bad boy’ he thought, trying to reverse the effect. Rose felt his arousal against her thigh and inwardly giggled. That’ll teach him for trying to make her blush all the time. She then felt it subside. He was getting better at that.

 

Thank Rassilon for Jackie Tyler and the slap from hell. John had used that image to dampen his ardour. They jumped apart when Dr. Patterson returned with the sealed case of samples.

 

“Emily. Can I call you Emily? Oh, I just did didn’t I? Anyway, Emily, do me a favour and find anyone who has had contact with the corpse and quarantine them until we know what we are dealing with. It could be airborne, droplet, body fluids, insects, we just don’t know.”

 

“Of course Dr. Smith. We’ll call them in and run some test on them. I’ll send you the results when I get them.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Back at Torchwood, John had just handed the samples into the Forensic Laboratory, with instructions to treat them as highly contagious until proved otherwise, when they got a call from McNab.

 

“I need you and the Wife to join Peg and Van in the City. They had a call to a bank and its gone pear shaped. It sounds like there’s another zombie out there.”

 

‘Jake The Peg’, from the Rolf Harris song, and Julia ‘Van’ De Graff from the school science static electricity generator, were two more nicknames that Captain McNab was so fond of.

 

“Okay Andy, we’re on our way.” He grabbed Rose’s hand, with his manic grin on his face. “Come on Wife, Allons-y.” They ran excitedly down the corridor hand in hand. It was just like the old days.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 15 years previously. **

 

Community Police Constable John Dixon sat on the street bench with his latest juvenile ‘collar’, Andrew Morrison. They were waiting for the wagon to take him to the local police station for processing, a ‘slap on the wrist’, telling him not to do it again, and then release.

 

“Y’know young Andy, in a few years time you’ll be old enough to be ‘properly’ nicked for your activities,” he told his young prisoner.

 

Andy silently looked at his hands and shrugged.

 

Dixon had known Andy for a good few years now, and in that time had gotten to know the kind of lad he was. He wasn’t a ‘wrong ’n’, like some of the scrotes on the estate. He was just misguided by that gang he’d fallen in with.

 

“You need to start thinkin’ about a job, or a trade, somethin’ that’ll keep you out of trouble.”

 

Andy looked at him with that mischievous smile that made it impossible to dislike him. “Maybe I could be a copper,” he said. “I mean, I know the job from the inside out, don’t I?”

 

Dixon laughed with him. He really liked this little rogue. He never gave him any attitude or trouble when he got caught doing something he shouldn’t, not like the others on the estate.

 

“I reckon you’d make one of the best coppers in the force if you put your mind to it,” he laughed. “You remind me of myself when I was your age.”

 

Andy gave him a doubtful look that said he didn’t believe him.

 

“I was young once y’know. And I was no angel. My old Dad was a bit handy with his fist, particularly after he’d had a few pints. I used to get out of the house to stay out of his way.”

 

Andy now looked sad. He’d never know his father, and from what he’d heard it was probably for the best, as he’d probably have ended up as a punch bag for him.

 

“This old copper sat me down once and told me how it was, what would happen to me if I went to prison. He looked out for me did old George.”

 

“What does happen in prison?” Andy asked nervously.

 

“Well, it ain’t like the holiday camp young offenders institute. There are some seriously bad people in there, people who would like to make your acquaintance in the showers when you drop the soap, if you take my meaning.” He could see that he didn’t take his meaning, so took some time to explain the phenomenon as delicately as he could.

 

Andy was quite pale when the wagon appeared and was locked inside.

 

“You take care now Andy, and think about what I’ve said.”

 

“I will Mr. Dixon…. I will.”

 

When the wagon arrived at the station, the officers were perplexed when it was missing one of its occupants. Who would have thought that the time it took for a traffic light to change to green, was enough time for a fan of Harry Houdini to pull off one of his amazing escapes.

 

Later that evening, Andy Morrison was with the rest of the gang in an abandoned warehouse. He didn’t really want to be there, and if truth be known, he didn’t really want to be in a gang anymore, not after what PC Dixon had been telling him.

 

He much preferred to be a street magician, scamming money off punters with ‘find the lady’ and his favourite ‘cup and ball’. He had perfected a version of it using pint sized clear plastic cups, the sort they use in pubs when the punters drink outside.

 

‘Double or nothing’, he would tell the patsy who had already lost with the ordinary cup and ball trick. ‘I’ll make it easier for you. Find this yellow tennis ball in these clear cups’.

 

And of course they would fall for it. He would whiz the cups around at dazzling speed and then stop suddenly.

 

‘Where’s the tennis ball?’ he would ask them, and they would point to the cup with the yellow sphere in it.

 

‘Wrong!’ he would sing-song and hold up the tennis ball in his hand. He would then lift up the cup. ‘Sorry, all you get is the lemon’. He would have palmed the ball out and substituted a lemon, much to the amazement of the patsy.

 

The crowd would applaud, and Andrew’s roguish charm meant that they took little or no offence to having been scammed by a first rate magician.

 

Now though, in this warehouse, it was a million miles away from those punters and that life of easy money.

 

When the local gang leader invites you to join, it’s an offer you can’t refuse, not if you still want all your bits of anatomy where they should be and in good working order.

 

They were interested in his light fingers, his skill at conning people and picking pockets. And to be fair, the gang were very democratic and divided up the spoils of the labours evenly amongst all of them.

 

This evening though was very undemocratic. Dennis Watts the gang leader, commonly known as Big Den, had decided they were going into the retail trade. They were going to use the money they had earned lately to buy a consignment of drugs to sell on the street.

 

They could treble or quadruple their investment he had told them. ‘But at what cost’, Andy had thought to himself.

 

A large, black Mitsubishi 4X4 rolled into the warehouse and came to a stop in front of them. No one moved, and the vehicle just sat there, inscrutable, with its tinted glass windows.

 

The engine stopped. Suddenly, the silence became deafening.

 

Three doors clicked and opened simultaneously, which made them jump. Meerkat Mickey (who was so named for obvious reasons), looked like he would drop on all fours, lift an imaginary tail in the air, and disappear down the nearest convenient hole.

 

Three large, bald headed men stepped out of the vehicle and looked around the warehouse from where they stood. The light in the warehouse was dim, and yet they wore sunglasses.

 

Andy wondered if the other members of the gang had spotted the subtle bulges of their expensive suits under their armpits. These men were armed. These men worked for the Firm, the organised crime syndicate in East London.

 

One of the man-mountains walked to the remaining closed rear door and opened it. A normal sized man in a grey pinstriped suit and shiny patent leather shoes, stepped out and looked around. He had an expensive Cashmere coat draped over his shoulders like a cape. He saw Den and gave him a false smile.

 

“Ah, Dennis. How nice to see you,” he said with a voice soft and welcoming, and yet with an undercurrent of menace. “I trust you have brought the money?”

 

“Yes Mr. Mason.” He took a large envelope out of the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “And the stuff?”

 

Mr. Mason nodded to one of the bald man-mountains and he reached into the 4X4 to take out a briefcase. He came and stood next to Mr. Mason and opened it. Inside were a number of plastic bags, tightly packed with a white powder.

 

The man-mountain took out one of the plastic ‘bricks’ and closed the briefcase.

 

“Now, as this is our first transaction, and we don’t really know each other yet, I hope you won’t be offended if we count the money,” Mr. Mason said in a friendly tone. There was something about the way he said ‘first transaction’ that made Den nervous.

 

“No, of course not. And I hope you don’t mind if I tests the merchandise?” Mr Mason smiled and nodded his understanding.

 

Den had contacted one of his ‘associates’ who had dealings with drug related matters. He had lent him a small wallet that contained a testing kit. He unzipped it and took out a tiny measuring spoon, which he poked into the plastic brick.

 

He put the small sample into the small phial of liquid in the wallet and shook it. As it changed colour, he compared it against the colour chart on the inside of the wallet.

 

“Wow! This is quality shit,” Den said.

 

“Of course, we have a reputation to maintain,” Mr. Mason replied.

 

One of the man-mountains nodded at him and he smiled at Den. “Excellent. Well, very nice doing business with you Dennis. We will see you next month for another transaction.”

 

“WHA’?! That wasn’t part of the deal. This was just a one off,” Den protested.

 

“We don’t do ‘one offs’ Dennis. My employers work with regular outlets for their merchandise. You should have read the small print. Oh, there wasn’t any print, was there?” he smiled innocently.

 

Meerkat Mickey was getting more and more agitated. “Den, what have you gotten us into? I don’t mind nickin’ an’ theivin’, that’s honest. But drugs? That’s wrong Den, an’ I don’t want any part of it.”

 

“Oh dear Dennis, you seem to have some dissent in your little group. Allow me to help you with that.” Mr. Mason nodded to one of the man-mountains, who pulled a silenced pistol from inside his jacket and shot Meerkat Mickey in the centre of his chest.

 

There was a stunned silence as Mickey’s body collapsed with a terminal sigh. Horror and disbelief were the expressions of the day for Den’s gang, and a realisation that they were in trouble if they didn’t do as they were told.

 

“There, now we are all of one mind. See you all next month,” Mr. Mason said and climbed back into the 4X4 with his henchmen. The car started up and reversed out of the factory.

 

Andy looked over at Big Den and for the first time since he’d known him, he saw fear in his eyes. “Shit Den. They killed him! They shot him for sayin’ he wasn’t happy about sellin’ drugs. Shit!”

 

“Oh God, what are we gonna do? The only way you get away from them is by bein’ dead,” Den said, still in shock.

 

“We’d better go and find some junkies to sell this shit to,” one of the gang suggested.

  
“And hope the local dealers don’t mind us invading their turf,” Andy said, foreseeing some of the problems ahead of them.

 


	3. Preliminary enquiries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The zombie fest gets underway and Rose gets annoyed with the celebrity status. The Doctor is impressed with how Rose takes charge. He also makes the score 15 - all in embarrassment tennis with a comment about handcuffs.
> 
> Andy decides that a life of drug dealing isn’t for him, but that doesn’t go down too well.  
> 

 

** Chapter 3 **

 

 

John and Rose entered the bank and walked over to the customer information desk. They were greeted by a pretty woman with curly blonde hair. Her name badge said she was ‘Debbie’ and that she was ‘pleased to help’.

 

The young woman’s eyes went wide with surprise and she put her hand in front of her mouth.

 

“Oh my God! It’s you isn’t it? I mean Rose Tyler, the Vitex millionairess,” she said excitedly.

 

Rose rolled her eyes. She’d had enough of this.

 

“No actually it’s Mrs. Rose Smith, Torchwood Special Operations Field Agent.” She held her ID badge up for inspection and nodded in John’s direction. “This is Dr. John Smith. I believe two of our agents are already here.”

 

“Er, yes. They’re in the basement vault,” ‘pleased to help’ Debbie told them.

 

“Right, thank you. Now you need to go see the manager and get him to evacuate the bank,” Rose said. ‘Pleased to help’ Debbie just stood there, completely baffled by the sudden turn of events and loss of her routine.

 

“NOW DEBBIE!” Rose shouted to get her moving. She looked around the foyer and saw another employee named Jason who it appeared was also pleased to help.

 

“Jason, everyone here is in danger. Debbie has gone to get the manager. You need to get the customers and staff out NOW unless you want to become a statistic on the evening news.”

 

John stood and watched with a look of immense pride on his face. This amazing woman, who had been an innocent 19 year old shop girl when he first met her, had blossomed into a successful and confident woman. who was now taking charge of the situation.

 

Jason gulped. “Yes Miss.” He turned and spoke to the foyer. “Excuse me.... Ladies and gentlemen. There has been a silent alarm activated and we need to evacuate the bank as a precaution while these officers investigate.”

 

John and Rose looked at each other in admiration at the young mans resourcefulness.

 

“There ya go Jason. Nicely done,” Rose said as she smiled at him and winked.

 

John and Rose followed the signs on the wall towards the stairs leading down to the basement vault.

 

“Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you’re bossy?” John said with a grin.

 

Rose looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Shut up,” she said playfully.

 

“Yes Miss. Of course Miss. Right away Miss,” he sing-songed. Rose laughed as they went down the stairs. There was no use trying to stop him, it would just make him worse.

 

The vault was a polished steel door with a large ‘wheel’ handle in the middle. ‘Just like a James Bond film’ John thought to himself. Jake and Julia were standing guard.

 

“Hi guys. What you got then?” John asked.

 

“You ain’t gonna believe what we got in here Doc,” Jake said.

 

“Oh I don’t know, we’ve seen some pretty weird stuff on our travels,” he replied.

 

As Jake opened the door, they could hear the feral growling coming from within. As they entered the vault, they could see a row of polished steel bars from floor to ceiling, with the safety deposit boxes built into the far wall behind. Standing at the bars was a grey skinned, yellow eyed man who was looking at them as though they were going to be his next meal.

 

John put his holdall on the floor and took his sonic screwdriver out of the breast pocket of his uniform. It made the familiar warbling whistle as he waved it around in front of him.

 

The results of the scan were holographically projected in the air above the device. To the other people in the room, it looked like he was staring into space, seeking divine guidance.

 

“No airborne pathogens to worry about. So, let’s see if we can get some samples. We’ll be able to compare them with the ones from the hospital.”

 

As John approached the zombie, it reached through the bars, trying to grab and bite him. Jake came up beside John and grabbed the wrist, only to be pulled forwards by the surprisingly strong zombie.

 

Jake only just managed to let go in time as the zombie went for a bite. It missed Jake's gloved hand and bit its own thumb. The group looked on in morbid fascination as it spit out the lump of flesh and grinned at them.

 

“Well, not quite what I had in mind, but what the hey, it works for me.” John opened the holdall and took out some forceps and a specimen jar.

 

As he approached the bars to try and collect the chunk of thumb, the zombie reached for him. John backed away.

 

“Okay. Maybe not. Let’s see if we can distract him.” John thought for a moment and then had a mischievous smile on his face.

 

“Rose, have you got your handcuffs?” he asked her with a cheeky smile, waggling his eyebrows.

 

Rose blushed at the looks she got from Jake and Julia as she took them off her utility belt and held them out for him. The bugger had got her again.

 

“Jake, if you can draw him to the other end and get him to reach through the bars, Rose can slap the cuffs on him.”

 

Jake nodded and started to taunt the zombie to get him to follow him along the bars. As he moved closer the zombie reached out and Rose quickly cuffed him.

 

The zombie squealed and started to struggle violently. Everyone stepped back, except for John who went to collect the sample. He reached through the bars and using the forceps, put the flap of skin in the plastic jar.

 

“DOC!” Jake shouted as he ran forward and tackled him away from the bars. When John sat up, he could see a singled handed zombie reaching for him, handcuffs dangling from the wrist.

 

When he looked over to the other side of the room, there was the other hand, lying on the floor.

 

John looked at Jake and smiled. “Thanks mate. You couldn’t put that hand in a specimen bag for me could you?”

 

“Yeah, I’m on it Doc.”

 

As Jake secured the hand in a bag, Rose stood beside her husband.

 

“What are we going to do with it John? I mean how can we get it out of here and back to HQ?”

 

“Hmmm, no idea really. Julia, try your stunner on it.”

 

Julia took out her stun gun and ‘zapped’ the once human creature. It stumbled backwards and then lunged at the bars.

 

“Right, we won’t try that one again,” John said. “I’ll have to have a think about this.”

 

Rose took out her scanner and filmed the ‘zombie’, uploading to Torchwood as she did.

 

A few minutes later Rose’s phone rang.

 

“Hi Chrissie. How are you? I haven’t seen you for ages…. That was quick,” she said to Chrissie. “Philip Coyne. Thanks Chrissie.”

 

“Right, so we’ve got a name.” John said, looking at the deposit boxes. “We need the ledger that tells us which box he was using, let’s go find the manager.”

 

They all nodded in agreement. That was the next logical step, although how and why he got locked in the vault in the first place was still puzzling.

 

With no risk of airborne infection, the staff were allowed back into the bank, with the basement declared a crime scene and out of bounds. The manager gave them the ledger of box numbers and Julia noticed the security monitors on the wall.

 

“Do you have recordings of those cameras on the premises?” she asked the manager.

 

“Yes, I’ll get the security manager to go through them with you.”

 

The team were disappointed that there was no video of the vault itself, client confidentiality being given as the reason. However, they hit gold when they saw Philip Coyne with a female employee heading towards the lift and seeing the indicator go down to the vault.

 

11 minutes and 20 seconds later, the woman is seen running from the direction of the stairs. The camera monitoring the staff entrance showed her leaving the building.

 

“Who was that woman?” John asked the security manager, who wound back the recording and freezed the frame.

 

“That would be Janet Parkes,” he told them. “I think the man is her boyfriend.”

 

“Really?” Rose said. “And does he have a safety deposit box?”

 

Julia looked up from the ledger. “Not according to this, unless he’s using an alias.”

 

“Mmmm. I wonder?” Rose said, looking thoughtful. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

 

She left the security office and went to find ‘pleased to help’ Debbie.

 

“Debbie. Can I have a quick word?” Rose asked her.

 

“Yes of course Miss T…. Er, Mrs. Smith. What can I do for you?”

 

“Janet Parkes, is she in today?”

 

“No, she phoned in sick. Running a temperature I think.”

 

“Ah, that’s a shame. D’you know her well? Y’know, socially?”

 

“Well, only from ‘girls nights out’ and office parties. She’s a real laugh,” Debbie told her.

 

“And boyfriends?” Debbie hesitated and her eyes looked away for a moment.

 

“Er, no. She’s married.”

 

Rose smiled knowingly at Debbie. “And boyfriends?” she asked again.

 

Debbie looked around and then leaned forward, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. “You didn’t hear this from me. Right?”

 

Rose nodded in agreement and Debbie continued. “She was having an affair with this bloke.”

 

“Philip Coyne,” Rose said as a matter of fact.

 

Debbie’s eyes went wide. “You knew?” Her estimation of the Vitex heiress had just gone up to a whole new level.

 

“I suspected it. You’ve just confirmed it. And I suppose they used to go down to the vault for him to make a deposit of his own,” Rose said with a smile. Debbie’s mouth fell open and she covered it with her hand.

 

“Thank you Debbie, you’ve been most helpful. Pleased you could help.”

 

Back in the security office, Jake was making copies of the security DVD’s to take back to the Multimedia Laboratory for further analysis, when Rose entered.

 

“Janet Parkes phoned in sick today with a fever. Philip Coyne is her lover and they were using the vault for romantic liaisons,” she told them.

 

“A knocking shop?” John said. “How did you find that out?”

 

“Female intuition John. You need to get in touch with your ‘Donna’ side. Oh, and Debbie, she was pleased to help.” Rose stood there with a satisfied grin.

 

John raised his eyebrows. “Good work agent Smith.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Right, let’s get back to HQ and see if we can find what links Nicholas Fisher and Philip Coyne. Oh, and call Medical and get them to pay a call on Janet Parkes, she may need help.”

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 15 years previously. **

 

‘They shot ‘im! No warnin’ nor nothin’, just killed ‘im dead’, Andy thought as he lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling in the dim light of his room. He could see the look of surprised disbelief on Mickey’s face, before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.

 

And the evil smile of Mr. Mason as he realised that none of them had seen anyone killed in cold blood before. It was an execution. Mickey was an example of what would happen if they didn’t behave.

 

They’d seen people get into arguments, that turned into fights, that ended up with someone being stabbed and taken to A&E. But to just take out a gun and shoot someone without giving them a fighting chance, well, that just wasn’t right.

 

He had spoken to Big Den after they’d run from the warehouse and crouched, shaking in an alley. Den was really regretting his decision to start selling drugs. All he’d seen was the money he could make, not the trouble that would come with it.

 

What the hell was he going to do now? He couldn’t stay around here, not now. Where would he go? And then he remembered the careers week at the school. An army officer had come to the class to talk about a career in the armed forces.

 

He  had said they could learn a trade, and this guy was in the Signals regiment. Radio, telecommunications and those new fangled computers, he liked the sound of that.

 

But they wouldn’t take a scrote like him, would they? A thief, a witness to a murder, a no-hoper. He would have to do something about that.

 

A week later, the gang met up on the estate as usual, minus Meerkat Mickey. Den had put the powder into individual sachets and handed them out.

 

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Not for personal use, see how many you can shift.”

 

They all took their allotted sachets and put them in their pockets and silently walked away, except for Andy, who wanted to speak to Den on his own.

 

“Den, I’ve got an idea about our mutual ‘friends’. Can you lend me a Ton (£100) and I’ll pay you back in a coupla weeks?”

 

“Whatcha got in mind?” Den asked as he reached out a roll of notes.

 

“Nothin’ definite yet, but I’ll let you know when I’ve bought some stuff that I need.”

 

Den gave him a doubtful look but handed over the money. Andy gave him a lopsided grin. “See ya later.”

 

The gang managed to move most of the drugs in a month and it came to the time for restocking their supplies. Mr. Mason had sent word to Big Den about the meeting place, which was another disused warehouse.

 

A few days before the meeting, Andy had gone to the warehouse and checked out the location. He just wanted to get a feel for the place, where the exits were, hiding places, light levels and acoustics, all that sort of thing. On the night of the arranged meeting with Mr. Mason, Andy knew his way around the warehouse with his eyes closed.

 

The Mitsubishi 4X4 slowly rolled into the warehouse, broken glass and concrete cracking under the massive tyres. The Sutton estate gang were back in the shadows of the warehouse, waiting for the 4X4 to stop.

 

Den walked forwards and stood in the glaring headlights as the man-mountains stepped out of the vehicle and opened the door for Mr. Mason. Andy stepped out of the shadows carrying a Japanese sword in both hands against his thighs.

 

The man-mountains went to reach for their weapons but Mr. Mason smiled and held up a hand to stop them.

 

“Weapons Dennis?” he asked in a friendly, conversational tone.

 

“Well, the boys are a bit skittish after last months encounter. Can’t say I blame ‘em really.

 

“No, I suppose not. It must be a bit of a shock seeing your first killing, and especially if it’s one of your own. But I hope the lesson was well learned?”

 

“Oh yes Mr. Mason, I’ve taken care of discipline,” Den said, opening his jacket a little to show a pistol in his belt. “It was a bit embarrassin’ for me last time, losin’ face an’ all that.”

 

“Quite so, quite so Dennis. Discipline is so important. Anyway shall we get down to business?” Mr. Mason nodded to one of his bodyguards and he went to fetch the briefcase.

 

Den reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a large, brown envelope.

 

“Den. Me and the lads have been talkin’ about this, and most of that money is ours,” Andy said, sliding the sword an inch out of its scabbard.

 

“Yeah. And we all share in the profits from sellin’ the stuff, don’t we?”

 

“Yeah, but we don’t want to anymore Den. We quit the gang, you can do it on yer own.”

 

“Quit the gang? You don’t quit the gang.” Den looked back to Mr. Mason a bit sheepishly. “Sorry about this Mr. Mason. It looks like I have to instil a bit of discipline.”

 

Mr. Mason smiled knowingly. He was interested to see if Big Den had the balls to instil discipline. If he did, then he had seriously underestimated him. If he did, there would possibly be an opening for him in The Firm.

 

Den turned back to Andy and took the gun out of his belt as Andy drew the sword.

 

“Don’t make me do this Andy, You’ve become my second-in-command, my lieutenant. Don’t be daft.”

 

“I’m sorry Den, but we’re all agreed on this,” Andy said, raising the sword and pointing the tip and Den. “Are you gonna use that, or force me to use this?”

 

BLAMMM!

 

The gunshot echoed deafeningly around the empty building. Andy clutched his chest with his empty hand and looked down to see it covered with blood. He looked up at Den, his expression not surprised or shocked. It was more disappointment than anything else.

 

“Den?” he said as he sagged to his knees and keeled over.

 

Den walked over to where he lay, out of the headlights, in the twilight and stood over him looking down.

 

“I’m sorry Andy, but you left me no choice. I can’t lose face in front of The Firm can I?”

 

The members of The Firm were looking around cautiously. That shot would attract attention. They had to conclude their business and move out quickly. Mr. Mason was about to attract Big Den’s attention, when something totally unexpected happened.

 

Andy was still holding the sword in his right hand. He used his left hand to push himself into a sitting position and thrust the sword forwards at Den. The members of The Firm saw the sword come out the back of his jacket as Andy collapsed back onto the floor.

 

Den gasped and doubled up, blood seeping out of his mouth. As he turned, the sword could be seen buried to the hilt just below his chest.

 

“Jesus Christ! I’m outta here,” one of the gang said and ran into the shadows and out of one of the doors, quickly followed by the rest of them.

 

Den sank to his knees and slumped over near Andy’s body, blood pooling on the ground in front of him. Mr Mason could see that the brown envelope was soaked with their blood. He was contemplating trying to retrieve it, when the sound of sirens wailing in the distance stopped him.

 

“We had better go Mr. Mason,” one of the man-mountains said.

  
He was not happy. Not happy at all. His employer would not be happy either, and that made him nervous.

 


	4. Government conspiracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It looks like there might be a conspiracy going on, and Torchwood is in the middle of it. The Doctor has to take action to preserve evidence.
> 
> We also see the aftermath of the warehouse incident.
> 
> Oh, and 30 - 15 to the Doctor.

 

** Chapter 4 **

 

 

The Animal Management crew went down to the vault and appraised the situation.

 

“What d’ya think, standard sack on a pole?” one agent asked.

 

“Yeah, that should do it,” the other replied.

 

While the one agent kept the zombie interested in a piece of raw meat, the other one eased a large hoop of material on a pole through the vertical bars. When the hoop was close enough, it was flipped horizontally over the head of the zombie and quickly lowered to the floor, leaving a sack of material covering it from head to foot.

 

The agent quickly pulled the cord running through the pole and secured the sack around the zombie’s ankles. They could hear it snarling as it struggled and fell over. The other agent picked up a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher and discharged it over the sack.

 

The cold gas started to shrink and harden the special fabric of the sack until the zombie was cocooned in a hard shell. The two agents gave a high five and lifted the now solid sack onto trolley, securing it with straps.

 

They casually chatted as they waited for the lift, which announced its arrival with a ‘ding’. They wheeled the trolley in and pressed for the ground floor. The lift hummed as it ascended and ‘dinged’ again as it reached the ground floor foyer.

 

As the lift doors opened there were multiple ‘clicks’ as a number of automatic weapons were cocked. Standing in front of them, were a team of UNIT soldiers in combat fatigues. The Animal Management agents looked at each other, looked back at the soldiers, and raised their hands.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

As Jake drove past One Canada Square on their way to the entrance of the underground car park, they noticed a number of UNIT troop vehicles parked in the street.

 

John was starting to get that uneasy feeling he used to get in the other universe, when things were about to go pear shaped. ‘Maybe that’s why I hate pears?’ he suddenly thought to himself.

 

{“Rose, I think the samples we collected from the bank would be safer in the TARDIS where I can run some ‘proper’ test on them. Would you put them in ‘Delores’ and wait for me?”} he said in Gallifreyan. He wanted to give Jake and Julia plausible deniability if they were asked what they were up to.

 

Rose looked at him and saw that look on his face. {“What’s up?”}

 

{“I’m not sure, but I think some brown stuff has hit a fan somewhere.”}

 

“Er, excuse me you two, what are you jabbering on about?” Jake asked them.

 

John grinned. “Just wanted to save your blushes. Talking about handcuffs and stuff,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Rose blushed while Jake and Julia smiled and gave them knowing looks.

 

In Forensics, UNIT personnel were all over the lab, checking paperwork and putting sample pots in metal briefcases. John walked up to a sergeant who was standing guard at the entrance to the lab.

 

“What’s going on?” John asked him.

 

“We are retrieving samples taken from The Republican Hope Hospital this morning and taking them to UNIT.”

 

“On whose authority Sergeant....?” John asked angrily, waiting for him to give his name.

 

“Sergeant Milligan sir. By authority of the Defence Minister.”

 

“What? The Ministry Of Defence? What do they know about biohazard material? Do you know what you are dealing with here Sergeant Milligan?”

 

“Yes sir, we’ve been fully briefed on our mission here.”

 

“Have you now! Well maybe you’d like to tell me what we’re dealing with, because I’m the smartest man on the planet and even I don’t know.”

 

“Ah, you’d be Dr. Smith then?” This shut John up, temporarily.

 

“Yes,” he said tentatively.

 

“I have a message for you Doctor. ‘Stop pestering this soldier and let him get on with his job’.... Sir.”

 

“What? Who gave you that message?”

 

“Director Tyler sir.”

 

“What?” John said. What was going on.

 

“Sergeant,” one of the soldiers called from the corridor. “There’s a locked laboratory here sir.”

 

Milligan went to look. John followed him to the quarantined lab.

 

“What’s in here sir?” Milligan asked as he opened the serving hatch.

 

“Read the sign Sergeant,” John said nodding at the large yellow sign on the door.

 

‘BIOHAZARD! DO NOT ENTER! BY ORDER OF DIRECTOR P. TYLER’, it read. As he read the sign, Milligan heard the inner hatch open and close.

 

“Who’s in there?” he asked urgently, suspecting some deception.

 

John walked up to the Sergeant and looked him in the eye. There was the look of the Oncoming Storm on his face.

 

“You do not want to know who is in there. Trust me. That door has not been opened for nearly three months. The safety of the universe depends on that door remaining locked. Any attempt to open that door will be met with lethal force. Is that understood?” John’s voice was cold and menacing, using terms a soldier would understand.

 

There was a long silence as the two men stared at each other, neither one blinking. Eventually, Sergeant Milligan looked away.

 

“Corporal! Do the records show that we have all the samples from the hospital?”

 

“Yes sir, all samples are accounted for sir.” Milligan turned and headed back to the Forensic Laboratory.

 

John still needed some answers as to what was going on, and he needed to keep an eye on these samples. He looked at the metal briefcases.

 

“Sergeant, do you know the European and International regulations on transportation of biohazardous materials?” John asked him.

 

“No sir. That would be the scientists area of expertise.”

 

‘Ah-ha’. Got him. “Those cases will need biohazard warning symbols on them or they’re not going anywhere.”

 

“I’m sorry sir but I’m under orders to take them,” Milligan stated.

 

“And you’ll be on report and facing a court martial if you do. A bit of a dilemma for you. Tell you what, you seem like a decent sort, I’ll go get you a ‘stick on’ symbol so that you can transfer them safely and legally.”

 

“Thank you sir.... that’s very kind of you.” The sergeant look a bit puzzled and distrustful.

 

“Is anything wrong Sergeant?” John asked him with a smile.

 

“Er, no sir. It’s just that Director Tyler said you might shout and rant and protest sir.”

 

“Oh don’t worry sergeant, I’m saving that for him when I see him.”

 

John stepped into the corridor and took out his phone. He hit the speed dial and spoke in Gallifreyan.

 

{“Rose, no time for questions. Get the samples to the TARDIS now and lock the door.”} He hung up the phone before she could even reply.

 

After a few minutes, John returned with a white card that had a biohazard symbol on a clear plastic sheet. He peeled the plastic sheet off the card and rubbed it onto the metal case. When he peeled off the sheet, a black biohazard symbol was bonded to the case by millions of nano circuits that formed a transponder tattoo.

 

“Right, now let’s see what Director Tyler has to say about all this.”

John stormed through the door of the glass fronted office. Pete stood and held up his hands as if ready to fend off an impending attack.

 

“Before you start John, I had nothing to do with this. It’s come direct from the government and there’s bugger all I can do about it.”

 

John stood silently, scrutinizing Pete’s face. He looked as annoyed as John felt.

 

“Yeah, okay. But why? We’ve had biohazard samples here before and stopped alien infections. What’s so special about these? Apart from it killing people and then turning them into zombies? I suppose that is a bit unusual.”

 

“The Ministry claim that they have the manpower and protocols in place to deal with this kind of potential epidemic.”

 

“Two victims isn’t an epidemic, that’s bollocks. There’s something else going on here. It’s a good job I put a tracer on those samples.”

 

Pete inwardly groaned. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone and done something I’m going to regret.”

 

John smiled his manic smile. “Just doing what Torchwood does best, gathering intelligence is all. Nothing to worry about.”

 

Pete groaned. “Oh God! Now I’m worried.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 15 years previously. **

 

The wheels of the 4X4 spun on the dirt ridden floor as it reversed out of the warehouse, spun 180 degrees and sped off into the night. The building was deathly quiet, except for the sound of distant sirens that stopped abruptly.

 

Five shadows entered through doors that had been their exit only moments before, and approached the motionless bodies on the floor.

 

“Den? Andy? Are you okay? They’ve gone,” one of the gang whispered.

 

The body that had been Andy Morrison sat bolt upright, spat out some spent blood capsules and laughed.

 

“Hah! We did it,” he laughed, beaming a smile at his friends.

 

The body that was Big Den Watts pushed itself into a sitting position, spat out capsules and looked down at the sword hilt sticking out of his chest.

 

“Bloody hell! It worked,” he laughed. “It only bloody worked! You’re a fuckin’ genius,” he said slapping Andy on the back and grinning. He pulled the hilt out and pushed it back in a little, looking over his shoulder and watching the tip of the blade move in and out as he did it.

 

He chuckled again. “Fuckin’ brilliant!”

 

The gang helped them stand up and one of them handed Andy his cassette player with the tape of police sirens on it. Den took off his jacket.

 

“Best hundred quid I ever spent,” he said. “Glad I didn’t wear my best jacket though.” He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a semicircular harness that fitted around his torso. As Andy withdrew the special flexible sword, the tip of the ‘fake’ sword withdrew into the harness around his body. Instead of the sword going right through him, it took a circuitous route around the harness.

 

“That was the easy bit,” Andy told them, going all serious. “Now we have to disappear. Dye your hair. Start dressin’ in different clothes and look smarter. Stop hangin’ around on the estate and start spendin’ your time elsewhere.”

 

This was stuff Andy had picked up when reading magic books. It was how magicians disappeared off stage and reappeared elsewhere. “Don’t sneak about, people will notice that. But don’t draw attention to yourself either. Use the back entrances to the flats and always take a different route in and out.”

 

“How long for?” one of them asked.

 

“Dunno,” Andy said. “A few months probably. Keep your ear to the ground and listen for any word of The Firm losing interest in us.” He looked at his friends one by one and finished facing Big Den.

 

“Don’t worry if you hear that I’ve disappeared. The Firm haven’t got me.... I’m goin’ away for a bit ‘til everything has calmed down.”

 

“Where ya goin’?” Den asked.

 

“Sorry Den. Not sayin’. If ya don’t know, ya can’t tell.”

 

“Well, we’ll miss ya.” Den held out his hand and they did a thumb clasp shake. Andy then repeated the shake with each of the gang and then back to Den.

 

“I owe you one Andy,” Den said quietly

 

“Yeah, sure,” Andy replied dismissively. “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”

 

Andy thought about his hero, Harry Houdini. ‘Time to escape and disappear’, he thought to himself and was never seen in Peckham again.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

In the med-lab of the TARDIS, John and Rose were looking at the readouts on the scanner displays.

 

“What are we looking at?” she asked him as she looked at the micrograph on the screen.

 

“This is a sample from the hand. That is common or garden E.Coli, the sort you find in every human’s intestine.”

 

“What?! So it’s not alien then?”

 

“No, but someone has been tinkering with the gene sequences, E.Coli seems to be the geneticist’s favourite. These bacteria are organising themselves like ants in a colony, taking over the control of nerve and muscle functions.”

 

Rose was open mouthed in disbelief. “Are you tellin’ me someone has deliberately created a bug to turn people into zombies?”

 

“Well, that may not have been their original intention, but that’s what they’ve ended up with. And here....” He pointed to another micrograph. “This is from the saliva off the lump of thumb he bit off. Spores. Millions of them. Everyone he bites or dribbles on gets infected.”

 

“Are we alright John?” she asked suddenly filled with dread, and thoughts of her son being left without parents.

 

“I ran the sonic over all of us at the bank, just as a precaution. Even zapped cold viruses that were hanging about, we’re fine.” He reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We need to get to Torchwood pronto. Fancy a go at flying us there,” he said with a smile.

 

“What, onto the landing pad in the Standby Room?” she asked him, her voice full of trepidation.

 

“Yeah, should be easy for you. The coordinates are already preset in ‘favourite destinations’, and the timeline is linear and concurrent.”

 

“Okay, let’s go,” she said with an excited smile.

 

Rose activated the door lock mechanism and selected the 3-dimensional spatial coordinates from the favourites menu. The temporal coordinates were left in neutral so that they didn’t travel through time.

 

She powered up the atom accelerator, released the time rotor handbrake, activated the inertial dampers, engaged the harmonic generator, released the locking down mechanism, pulled the engine release lever, activated the materialise/dematerialise function, and gradually increased the space-time throttle as the time rotor started to pump up and down and took them into the vortex.

 

She then gradually decreased the space-time throttle and activated the harmonic generator to stop the TARDIS from drifting as it materialized. She activated the materialise/dematerialise function and felt the TARDIS gently caress the floor of Special Operations Standby Room.

 

John took her hand and kissed her on the cheek. “Nicely done Wife,” he said as they headed for the door.

 

When they opened the door, they were confronted by the perfect white smile of Handsome Harkness, who had returned from Wimbledon common half an hour ago.

 

“I never get tired of that!” he said as they stepped out of the TARDIS.

 

“Me neither,” Rose confided.

 

Behind Jack, the rest of Blue Watch were looking at them with smiles on their faces. The corner of the Standby Room had been cleared and designated a landing area for the TARDIS, should it be needed for a mission at some point.

 

“How were the Jathar?” John asked him as he closed the TARDIS door.

 

“Very appreciative of the quantum tunnel diode that we fitted to their star drive. I got the quartermaster to run one out to us from the warehouse. They gave me this as a trade.” He held up a small handset that looked like a car key fob.

 

“Watch this,” he said as he pressed the button. Jack morphed into Jackie Tyler, complete with pink tracksuit, large hooped earrings and cockney accent.

 

“Watcha think lover boy?” morphed Jackie said, giving him a wink.

 

John shuddered. “You don’t know how disturbing that is Jack.”

 

Morphed Jackie laughed and turned back into Jack. “Couldn’t resist it Doc. A psychic shimmer. Think about the person you want to be and press the button.”

 

He pressed it again and Rose gasped. “Oh my God Jack,” she said.

 

There in front of them was a man with short hair, blue eyes, big ears and a daft grin, wearing a leather jacket.

 

“Hello Rose,” he said in a northern accent.

 

“I’ve missed that daft old face,” she said with a sad smile.

 

“I think you need to check that into the warehouse Jack,” John told him.

 

Jack reappeared and nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that. I miss that face too.”

 

While Jack headed down to the basement, John moved over to a computer to activate the tracking tattoo that he’d applied to the specimen case. Rose went through to Despatch next door to say hello to her friend Chrissie Anderson.

 

Chrissie had been her mentor when she had started at Torchwood, being one of the most senior agents on the payroll. Her nickname of ‘Brains’ was well deserved, being the senior Technical Operations officer. All the high tech equipment they used was her responsibility; she made sure all staff were properly trained and competent to use it.

 

She had a doctorate in semiconductor physics, and degrees in electronics and engineering. She had written a number of papers on her research, and turned out an article for scientific publications on average once a year.

 

“Rose! How are you? It’s so good to see you again.” She got out of her seat and hugged her.

 

“I’m fine thanks. How was India?” Chrissie had been on secondment to Torchwood in India for two months, helping them upgrade their Technical Operations Department.

 

“It was great! Dave and the kids loved it.”

 

“You must come over for dinner one evenin’. We’ll check the rota later and see when we’re free,” Rose suggested.

 

“Rose, can you give your Dad a call and ask him to come down here?” John called to her.

 

“Is somethin’ wrong?” she asked.

 

“An interesting development shall we say. Andy, I think you’ll find this interesting too.”

 

John waited until Pete arrived in Special Operations and he had everyone’s attention.

 

“Pete, what did the Defence Minister actually tell you?” John asked.

 

“What, Geoffrey Miller? He said that it had come to his attention that certain hazardous specimens had been collected by Torchwood and he was sending UNIT to confiscate them on behalf of the government for safe keeping.”

 

“And that involved them being taken to UNIT HQ at the Tower of London?”

 

“That is what I was led to believe, yes. I phoned the President and she said it had been a request from the military to contain any possible outbreak.”

 

“Hmmm. So why are they currently heading west on the M3?” John asked.

 

“What?” Pete exclaimed.

 

“Uh-oh,” Andy said. “I bet you a pound to a penny they’re heading towards Salisbury. Porton Down to be exact.”

 

“Wha? The secret research place?” Rose asked.

 

“The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, known as DSTL, an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Defence. Its one of the most sensitive and secretive government facilities for military research, including CBRN defence,” Andy told them.

 

“Oh this is getting interesting,” John said. “Chrissie, do you think you can access DSTL without being detected?”

 

Chrissie smiled at him. “Can Pavarotti sing opera? What do you need?”

 

“A list of employees working there.”

 

“That’s not too sensitive so it should be fairly straightforward.” She moved over to her computer and started to set up a false trail around global servers incase someone detected her intrusion.

 

“Are you thinkin’ Philip Coyne might be an employee?” Rose asked him quietly.

 

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

 

While Chrissie was busy on her computer, Andre ‘The Giant’ Coultarde had taken over on despatch. He wasn’t a giant, but the name of a wrestler from TV just seemed to fit. He was just taking a call from the hospital.

 

“Shohn, zair iz a call on line three from Dr. Patterson at ze ‘ospital,” he said in in his Swiss accent that made all the female staff weak at the knees.

 

“Thanks Andre.” He went over to the desk and picked up the phone.

 

“Emily, it’s John Smith. What can I do for you?” he said in a conversational tone. Rose was watching his face to see if she could gauge whether the call was good news or bad.

 

By the way his smile suddenly disappeared, she knew. She patted Pete’s arm to get his attention and nodded towards John.

 

“When?.... How many?.... Did either of them leave the hospital?.... Okay you need to lock down, nobody in, nobody out. Call back anyone who has been at the hospital today. Start everyone on a course of high dose antibiotics, I’ll send you my data.”

 

He put the phone down and turned to look at everyone. They were staring at him with faces full of dread.

 

“The mortuary technician and one of the security guards have had cardiac arrests after going into multiple organ failure. Roughly an hour later they are trying to bite anyone who will let them.”

 

He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Pete, I think you need to call the President again and tell her the military have been playing ‘silly buggers’ with some bugs. Oh and call UNIT and tell them if they are so keen to deal with this, get there arse’s down to the hospital and sort it out.”

 

Pete nodded. “I’ll be in my office.” He didn’t mind being ordered about by John in situations like this. He knew about delegation of authority; let the best person for the situation take control of that situation.

 

“Dad, can we get Alice’s team to tell the families about the first two victims? They might have some information that’ll make sense of all this.”

 

Alice DiMaggio had been Rose’s bereavement counsellor when she was first stranded in this world and helped her to come to terms with being separated from the Doctor. She had since become her best friend.

 

“Good idea sweetheart. Give Psychology a call. I want a field agent with each counsellor.”

 


	5. Porton Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At last! Alistair finally makes an appearance (as Alistair at least).
> 
> Apologies to any military buffs out there. I know nothing about the army, so if it is glaringly inaccurate I apologize. However, in my defence, it is an alternate universe and this may be how they do it over there. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)
> 
> Pete has a chat with the President, while Torchwood does what Torchwood does best and starts investigating the top secret DSTL.
> 
> The Doctor and Rose go and do some domestic, while the DSTL base commander has a chat with his chief scientist.

 

** Chapter 5 **

  


****

** 15 years previously **

 

Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Carruthers watched from his office window as the convoy of buses pulled into the barracks, carrying the latest recruits that had completed their basic training in Winchester.

 

He liked to observe the young recruits get off the bus and see how they reacted to the drill sergeant as he shouted at them to get in line and stand to attention. Some of them were intimidated and scared, some proud and brave, and others were.... ‘indifferent’ he thought as he watched one of the new recruits step off the bus.

 

He considered himself a good judge of people. After active service in war torn countries and fighting terrorist insurgents, you either learned to read people quickly, or they might try to kill you where you stood.

 

The young man he was reading was neither scared nor brave, he was there as a means to an end. He didn’t want to be here, but he probably had no choice. That intrigued him.

 

Alistair McKenzie, (formerly known as Andrew Morrison) stepped down onto the parade ground and looked around. He saw the drill sergeant about to shout and quickly got into line and stood still.

 

‘Don’t stand out, fade into the background, misdirection’, he thought to himself. If only he’d learnt that lesson earlier on the Sutton Estate in Peckham. He might not have been forced to ‘disappear’ and end up in the army.

 

To be fair though, the last four months weren’t too bad. He’d been at the Army Training Regiment at Worthy Down Barracks near Winchester, where he’d shared a room with three other lads. It was comfortable and clean and just like being in a street gang again.

 

The first two months were all exercise and learning about guns, with some camping thrown in for good measure. ‘Fieldcraft’ and ‘Skill at Arms’ is what they’d called it. He still wasn’t keen on all the brainwashing they called discipline though.

 

The next two months had been problem solving and team building exercises, finishing off with the passing out parade. That part was really difficult for him. He couldn’t invite Andrew Morrison’s mother to the passing out of Alistair McKenzie, could he?

 

He wondered if she missed him or if she thought he was dead. She’d miss the money he used to bring into the flat, he knew that, and suspected that would be it as far as her concern went.

 

He saw his new friends with their families and loved ones and felt incredibly lonely. His roommates came over and introduced him to their families. They were really nice people and tried to include him in their conversations, and he was really appreciative of their efforts. His roommates were more of a family than he’d ever had before in his life.

  
One of the main skills he’d refined over the four months was fading into the background and not standing out. Using his street smarts and sense of humour, he’d managed to fit into the group but not stand out and get noticed by those in charge.

 

Carruthers walked across the parade ground to inspect the new recruits and give them a ‘pep talk’ before they were assigned to their barracks.

 

“Good morning recruits. My name is Lieutenant Colonel Carruthers and I’d like to welcome you to the 11th Signals Regiment here at Donnington.”

 

“Morning sir,” they all replied as one voice.

 

“The Republican Corps of Signals are leaders in Information Technology and Communications for the British Army. We provide the Army with communications throughout the world and promise a varied and exciting career,” Carruthers started. “Although you’ve probably already heard the recruitment spiel,” he laughed.

 

The group of recruits laughed politely.

 

“Over the next few weeks you’ll be finding your way around the base, you know the kind of thing, who’s who and what’s what. The Sergeant here will show you how we do things, so pay attention to what he tells you. Carry on Sergeant.”

 

“Yes Sir. Thank you Sir,” the sergeant said with a salute. The recruits all saluted as well.

 

“Right you lot!” the sergeant said. “Listen for your names and assignments to your barracks.”

 

The next day, bright and early’ (well actually it was dim and very early) they were on a 5K run before breakfast. After showers and breakfast, they were in the classroom for their orientation and course selection.

## Alistair had decided that he wanted to try for Communication Systems Engineer. He could learn how to set up and repair digital communication systems, and study ultra-high frequency radio, becoming expert in the use of satellite technology.

 

That was cutting edge stuff. Apparently he would also learn advanced computing skills, allowing him to set up, operate and repair communication networks used on the battlefield.

 

Also he’d heard, he would help create and manage digital exchanges, video links and networks, mastering software from leading companies and learning to configure internet networks. Apart from all the discipline stuff and square bashing, he reckoned he was going to enjoy his time here.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“Madam President, it’s Director Tyler,” Pete said in an officious tone of voice.

 

“Hello Pete. Are you still mad at me for sending in UNIT to collect those samples?”

 

“Nah, I’m mad at you for letting yourself be hoodwinked by some wanker in the Ministry of Defence.”

 

“What do you mean?” she asked him, slightly concerned.

 

“Well, we managed to run some test before we lost the samples,” he lied. He didn’t want anyone to know that they had samples to work on. They might be needed as evidence in a prosecution.

 

“Can we ‘talk’?” he asked her.

 

She knew what he meant. “Yes, this line and my office are secure.”

 

“It is not an alien infection. In fact its very human, E-Coli. Someone has been messing about with its DNA, making it deadly.”

 

“What!? Who would do such a thing Pete?”

 

“Harri, at the moment those tissue samples are on their way to Porton Down, probably never to be seen again in an attempt to bury the evidence. Only it doesn’t matter, because we’ve got another two victims at the hospital to take samples from.”

 

“Two more! Oh my God, what are we dealing with here Pete?”

 

“I honestly don’t know at the moment Harri, but I’ve got my best team on it.”

 

“Is there anything you need from me?”

 

“Yes there is actually. Torchwood needs full jurisdiction on this one if you want to catch those responsible.”

 

“Of course Pete, just a moment.” He heard her activate the intercom in her office. “Justin, contact the office of the Defence Minister and tell Geoffrey Miller that I want to see him now. And tell him it isn’t for a social chit-chat.”

 

Pete heard her secretary respond and then come back to him. “Do what you have to Pete. You have my full backing, as always.”

 

“My technical lead is accessing Porton Down as we speak, you may get some reports of attempted intrusions into secure servers.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell them you’re testing security after an attempted hack.”

 

“Thanks Harri, I’ll keep you updated. Speak to you soon. Bye.”

 

He put the phone down and opened the intercom to Special Operations.

 

“Chrissie, we’ve got government sanction on this. Be as brazen as you like getting that information.”

 

“I’m nearly there Pete, and I do have my reputation to maintain,” she said light heartedly.

 

A few minutes after Pete’s call, Chrissie gained access to the HR records at Porton Down.

 

“OK John, give me some names,” she said

 

“Try Philip Coyne.”

 

She typed in the name into the database search and drew a blank. “No, not there,” she declared.

 

“Damn. I thought we were onto something then,” John replied. “What about the girlfriend, Janet Parkes?”

 

“Two people with the surname Parkes. No way to know if they are related though.”

 

“Mmmm. Okay, we’ll have to wait and see what the victim support counsellors come up with,” he said.

 

John ran his hand through his hair and pulled his earlobe whilst deep in thought. He was the scientific lead and needed to coordinate a response.

 

“Right. As Nicholas Fisher is the first victim, let’s assume that he had the first contact with the infection. We need to trace his movements.”

 

It was 15:30 and only a half hour to the end of their shift. He would have to hand over some tasks to Green Watch for the evening.

 

“Jake, can you contact the police station that arrested Nicholas Fisher. See if they’ll fax a copy of his statement to us, and Green Watch can go over it this evening.” Jake stood and went through to Communications.

 

“Julia, would you start pulling CCTV footage from around Philip Coyne’s neighbourhood and see if we can spot Fisher. At some point, those two met and cross contaminated.”

 

“John, what about the samples heading to Porton Down? Do we just let them take them?” Rose asked.

 

“Well, we have our own samples in the TARDIS to work on. Whatever is going on here or whoever is involved, will think they have the upper hand by getting the samples back. Let’s leave it like that for the moment. We know where the samples have gone and it gives us the advantage,” John said.

 

“There’s not much else we can do today, it’s only half an hour before change of shift. I want to get back into the TARDIS and do some more tests on the samples.” John started to move out of the Operations Room into the Standby Room and the TARDIS.

 

“Wait for me,” Rose said. “I’ll give you a hand.”

 

John grinned at her. “I’ve already got one waiting in the lab thanks. But thanks for the offer.”

 

In the Med-Lab, John was using his sonic screwdriver on the bitten sample. It was making its usual warbling whistle. In the corner of her eye, Rose caught some movement that made her jump.

 

“Aaah!” Rose exclaimed as she looked at the zombie hand.

 

“What’s up Love?” John asked as he stopped scanning and went over to her.

 

“I could swear I saw one of the fingers moving.”

 

John moved in close and scrutinised the hand. “Which finger?”

 

“It was only through the corner of my eye, but I think it was the index.”

 

“Mmmm. I wonder?” John held up his sonic and activated it. The hand remained stubbornly inert. He started to change the settings, when all the fingers suddenly flexed, causing the hand to ‘jump’.

 

“Gotcha!” John exclaimed. “That’s fascinating. I’ll tell you what Rose, I reckon if I modulate the frequencies, I could get the hand to walk on the fingers.”

 

“You’re kiddin me.”

 

“No, I think that’s a little project for me later.” Rose could see by his expression that he was deep in thought about something. He suddenly put on his smile. “Well, that’s the end of our shift. Let’s go and hand over to Green Watch and go and get changed.”

 

They took the TARDIS home and then drove to Tyler Mansion via Waitrose to pick up some groceries and ‘Former John’s’ supplies.

 

“How’s he been Mum?” Rose asked as she lifted their son out of his ‘bouncer’ in the lounge, giving him a big cuddle and kiss. It was a redundant question really; they both knew he had been fine.

 

“He tried to bite Pro-droid,” Tony told them, who had been playing with his action figures and explaining to EJ the plot of their imaginary adventure.

 

“He’s been a little angel, haven’t ya,” Jackie said, tickling his tummy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a contented baby, even when he was teethin’.”

 

What Jackie didn’t know was that both Rose and John were able to feel his emotions and telepathically soothe him if he became upset. Rose was still learning to develop her abilities, but when EJ was teething, John was able to induce the release of endorphins and ease the soreness in his gums.

 

“Well young man, we’d better get you home and have some dinner, hadn’t we. Yes we had,” Rose cooed at him and he responded with a big smile.

 

John picked up the baby bag and they headed for the door. “Thanks Jackie, we’ll see you in the morning.”

 

“Okay, give Grandma a kiss then.” She ‘munched’ EJ’s cheek, which elicited a chuckle from him.

 

In the kitchen of their home, John and Rose’s telepathic abilities were manifest without them realising it. Putting away the groceries and preparing the meal was like a ballet, each of them moving around and realising what the other was doing.

 

Occasionally, they would pass each other and steal a quick kiss as they went. Rose was chopping vegetables and suddenly and onion or a pepper would appear when she needed it, followed by a quick kiss on the side of her neck or a nibble of her ear. Cooking had never been so much fun (or so arousing) when she was living on her own.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

General Chatfield was sitting at the desk in his office, reading over last week’s security bulletins and preparing a report for the Ministry, when there was a knock at the door.

 

“Come in.” The door opened and Professor David Jenkins walked in.

 

“You wanted to see me General?” he asked, a degree of curiosity in his voice. The General tended to leave the civilian scientists to their own devices, as long as they didn’t cause any problems.

 

“Ah yes Professor, thank you for popping in. Please have a seat.” He indicated one of the wooden chairs. “You safely received the consignment of contaminated tissue samples from Torchwood?”

 

“Yes General. We have them in the secure containment area, although I don’t understand why. Torchwood are eminently more qualified to examine the samples with their superior technology.”

 

“Yes Professor, but the Minister wanted this outbreak to be handled by the military. I have full confidence in your team’s abilities.”

 

“Thank you General.  We are treating it as a Category A Priority Pathogen, the same as the Ebola virus. Work will be slow I’m afraid.”

 

“Have you any idea what we are dealing with here?” Chatfield asked.

 

“We have the initial, cursory examination by Dr. Smith. He’s an absolute genius you know. A lot of the new equipment we use in our lab was designed by him,” Jenkins informed him.

 

“And the results?” Chatfiield asked patiently. He knew these science types could easily drift off task.

 

“What? Oh, yes. E. Coli bacteria.”

 

“I’ve heard of that. Isn’t it a harmless gut bacteria?”

 

“Normally yes, but according to Dr. Smith this one has been genetically engineered. We like to use E. Coli because it is easy to work with.”

 

“Any idea who might have engineered it?”

 

“Not a clue I’m afraid. Reading the specs on it’s properties, it is very sophisticated and advanced work. I don’t know of any lab that could do this kind of work, except maybe Torchwood.”

 

“Torchwood, really? Now that’s interesting. Do you think someone at Torchwood would release a Category A Priority Pathogen into the environment? Why?”

 

“No I don’t think that at all. I was saying that their laboratories may have the technology to be able to do it. Dr. Smith would never do anything like that. And as to a motive? Well it could be an accidental release, or someone has an antibiotic that governments will buy by the billions, making them very rich.”

 

“Mmmm. That’s certainly something to think about. I think I’ll include your comments in my report to the Ministry if that’s alright with you?” Chatfield asked.

 

“As long as you indicate that my comments are pure speculation with no basis in fact.”

 

“Of course Professor, that is duly noted. Thank you for your time.”

 

No problem General.” Jenkins stood and headed for the door, giving a concerned look over his shoulder as he left the room.

 

Chatfield continued to write his report. He was a military man from a military family and his views tended to be coloured by this.

 

Torchwood! A privately funded institute, headed by some smarmy entrepreneur who liked to get his face in the media. What right did they have to meddle in military affairs?

 

And what about that Peter Tyler? He’d even been interviewed by Parkinson, how annoying is that? Just because he has the ear of the President. ‘I wonder if he slept with her to get that position?’ he thought bitterly.

  
And now his daughter and her husband are following his lead and getting their faces all over the media. A right bunch of ‘wannabe’s’. Well he’ll show them that you don’t mess with the military and you don’t mess with General Malcolm Chatfield.

  



	6. The visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More domestic for the Smith family as Rose hones her telepathy skills.
> 
> Torchwood start to put the pieces together as the evening shift find some answers.
> 
> Alistair finds his niche and starts to impress. (So much for not getting noticed and blending in)
> 
> The Doctor and Rose go to DSTL to investigate and confront the base commander.  
> 

 

** Chapter 6 **

  


****

John was roused from his slumber by the feel of gentle breath on the back of his neck. It was 23 minutes before the alarm would go off and Rose was spooning him from behind with her arm draped across his waist. ‘What a wonderful way to wake up’ he sleepily thought.

 

He gently pushed his bum backwards into her lap, causing her to stir and mumble. In that pleasantly drowsy state between sleep and wakefulness, she instinctively pulled him close and reached between his legs for her now favourite part of his body, which responded immediately. His great hair had been relegated to second place.

 

John breathed a sigh of pleasure and rolled onto his back. Rose lifted her leg over him and lay on top, gently sliding down onto him with gentle, rhythmic movements. This was her favourite way of doing pelvic floor exercises. ‘Who said exercise was boring?’ she thought to herself and then stifled a giggle at the joke.

 

After ten minutes of bedroom gymnastics, they both gasped with pleasure and blew out air after their ‘horizontal samba’.

 

“Whew! That’s better than any alarm clock you can buy,” Rose said as she kissed his chest.

 

John reached over and switched the alarm off. “Mmmm. Y’know, whichever of me said that they didn’t do domestic was an idiot. No, seriously. They had no idea what they were missing,” he said as Rose started to laugh.

 

They just lay there, basking in the warmth of their love for one another, he underneath and she on top. He gently ran one hand up and down her spine, while the other one fondled her bum. She played with her second favourite part of him, and ran her fingers through his hair.

 

“Can you ‘feel’ EJ?” he asked her. “With all those happy chemicals in your brain at the moment, it’s an ideal time to practice.”

 

Rose smiled and closed her eyes, reaching out in her imagination. “Hah! He’s dreaming! I can see random images,” she said excitedly. “Oh bless. I can see me.... and you, Tony and Mum.” She lay there resting her head on John’s chest while sensing her son’s dreams.

 

It soon came to the time when the alarm would have gone off. Rose reluctantly climbed off her husband and allowed him to get out of bed. They headed for the en suite for a recreational shower.

 

John’s physiology was human, as Rose had discovered with a simple touch to certain zones on his body, or a suggestive word. But the superior Gallifreyan parts of his anatomy were able to augment those inferior human parts.

 

After their first few ventures into the field of human sexual endeavours, Rose thought that all her Christmas’ had come at once when John told her he would be able to sustain his arousal for hours at a time. Rose squealed with delight and John had a smug grin on his face for the best part of a week.

 

After their very enjoyable shower, and having put some clothes on, they fell into their morning routine. Rose went to get EJ, while John went to make breakfast. After breakfast, Rose put the things her Mum would need into the baby bag and they set off for the day.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“Right people, listen up. There have been some developments overnight,” Andy McNab said as Blue Watch congregated around the media screens. He used a remote to bring up information on the screen.

 

“Our medics took Janet Parkes to Republican Hope and overnight her condition deteriorated. Despite all attempts to save her, she passed away in the early hours and is now a zombie.” He clicked the remote again to bring up additional information.

 

“Two members of Green Watch went with the counsellors to the families of Anthony Fisher and Philip Coyne. They were obviously very upset at the news.”

 

The room fell silent as the Watch thought about what the families must be going through.

 

“One interesting lead came from the Coyne family. He has a sister, Linda who married one Alan Thomas. It turns out that Linda Thomas works at Porton Down and has disappeared.”

 

“Ah-ha! So that’s the connection,” John said.

 

“Yes. Irish and Welsh, I want you to hook up with a Detective Constable Wells and see what you can find out about Linda Thomas and her relationship with her brother.”

 

“We’re on it,” Stuart Sinclair and Pete Davies acknowledged.

 

“Okay. Yesterday evening, Green Watch started going over the arrest record of Nicholas ‘Fishy’ Fisher. He was arrested soon after attempting to steal from the house of Alan and Linda Thomas. Her brother Philip Coyne interrupted him when he came to visit.”

 

“Where was she if her brother was expecting her to be there?” Clive ‘Bart’ Simpson asked.

 

“She was at the police station, reporting a theft from her car by guess who?” Andy said.

 

“Fisher?” Jack asked.

 

“Any idea where Linda Thomas is now?” John asked with concern in his voice. He didn’t like the way this was heading.

 

Andy clicked the remote again. “When Green Watch got this information, they sent a team out to interview her. The house was empty and neighbours said her husband is working away for a couple of weeks. The police are trying to contact him now, it may be she’s gone to stay with him.”

 

“That sounds reasonable,” Rose commented.

 

“The neighbours also said that Coyne waited for his sister to come home and left some time later. Thomas left around 22:30 and never returned. Peg and Van, I’d like you to check traffic cameras and CCTV and see if you can find her car. ”

 

“Okay boss,” Jake said.

 

“Bart and  John Boy, I want you to join them and check CCTV for Nicholas Fisher. We know when and where he grabbed the bag from Thomas’s car, see if you can trace his movements and who he came into contact with.”

 

“No problem,” Clive ‘Bart’ Simpson and Danny ‘John Boy’ Walton said.

 

“Doc, do you have anything to add as scientific lead?” Andy asked.

 

John stood and walked over to the table and dropped his holdall on it.

 

“We are dealing with a genetically engineered bacteria that appears to be transmitted by contact with bodily fluids. We are classing it as a Risk Group 4 Pathogen, requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment, the same as the Ebola virus.” John took a perspex container out of the holdall which contained the zombie hand.

 

“The National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are calling it a Category A Priority Pathogen.” John attached a circular device to the container and linked it to his tablet PC.

 

“The pathogen takes control of the corpse’s muscles and nerves and has some…. unusual properties. On their own volition, they coordinate to find food, and in so doing spread themselves to another host.”

 

“Their own volition?” Jack asked.

 

“Yeah, because they can also be coordinated remotely.” John activated the software program he had written the previous evening and everyone in the room gasped.

 

The hand lifted up on its fingers and started to dance. The circular device was a low power microwave transmitter. The encoded radio data stream was stimulating the pathogen in a regulated way.

 

“Why in God’s name would anyone want to do that?” Gwen asked.

 

“Andy, I think we need to go to Porton Down and have a chat with the boffins there. See what they have to say for themselves,” John said, nodding to Rose as the ‘we’.

 

“Yeah, I thought you’d be the best for that task,” Andy said “Okay people, let’s move.” The team stood and started to move out. “Rose, think diplomacy. Try not to let him upset too many people,” Andy said as he nodded at John with a lopsided grin.

 

“Hey! What do you mean? I can be diplomatic,” John protested. Rose just laughed and herded him out of the door. “I’ll have you know I was a president once.”

 

Andy smiled and shook his head, wondering what state his country was in when he’d finished being president.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 14 years previously **

 

Alistair was in the classroom with a group of students who had opted for the Communication Systems Engineer course. They had already completed months of study on the theory of the electromagnetic spectrum, electronics and digital processors.

 

Today was a chance for them to test what they had learned in a team building exercise. The class tutor handed out sheets of paper with a scenario on them.

 

“Right class, listen up. Here’s the scenario. Acting on information received, a platoon is heading into hostile territory to meet with a resistance cell. Insurgents have just brought down your transmitter mast and new intelligence shows that the platoon is heading for an ambush.” He pauses for dramatic effect.

 

“On the paper is a map of the area and list of equipment available to you on the truck. Repairing the mast is not an option due to time constraints. You will need to improvise.” He started the timer on the desk.

 

“All the theoretical knowledge you have will allow you to save the lives of your friends and colleagues. When the bell rings…. They die.”

 

‘Oh wow! No pressure then’, Alistair thought as they started to read through the list of materials. One of the group started to take command and brainstorm the problem.

 

“Can we boost the output power of a walkie talkie?”

 

“No. You’ll fry the crystal before you can even get two thirds of the distance,” came the reply.

 

“We could jump into a truck and close the distance as we worked on it.”

 

“Good thinking team,” the tutor said, who was listening with interest. “Someone calculate speed, distance and range. The clock is still ticking.”

 

Alistair suspected that the tutor was throwing them a red herring.

 

One of the team who was good at maths started to scribble calculations, as Alistair continued to look through the list of materials on the truck. Misdirection. ‘What am I missing?’ he thought.

 

Suddenly it all fell into place for him. The map of the scenario, the equipment list and the theory.

 

“Hey guys, I’ve got it,” he told them. “We need to improvise a transmitter mast. We get someone to climb one of the trees and hang a cable from the top of it.” The tutor sat up and paid attention.

 

“We can rig a half wave dipole. We know the frequency to calculate the length of the cable and we can estimate the capacitance and inductance of the wire,” Alistair said excitedly.

 

“If you don’t know the capacitance or inductance of the cable, you’ll get feedback that will eventually cripple your radio,” the tutor said, baiting him.

 

“We’re only sendin’ one message, ‘run!’. If the radio blows up you can bill me for it,” Alistair retorted, a bit annoyed. The tutor quietly chuckled, this kid was good.

 

“What about the feed line? It’ll be unbalanced on a 75 Ohm coaxial cable,” one of the team added.

 

Alistair had thought of this one, he’d done his homework. “We take a separate loop of coax and rig a balun to form a folded dipole. It won’t be perfect, but it will get a message to the platoon.”

 

“Got it!” the maths student exclaimed. “If we can cross the terrain at top speed and work on the walkie talkie while we’re travelling, we might just make it in time.”

 

‘RRRIIINNNGGG!!!’

 

“Okay class. How do you feel?” the tutor asked.

 

“Knackered sir,” Alistair admitted. “Did we save the platoon?”

 

“Let’s hope so Private. Your team came up with two possible solutions that could have worked. The main thing is, you worked as a team. No one person had all the answers, except maybe for Private McKenzie, who demonstrated a good depth of knowledge of the subject.”

 

The rest of the team nodded and Alistair shrugged.

 

“A lucky guess really. It was only because we had a backup plan that I had time to play with the idea.”

 

“Well done team. Go grab some lunch and I’ll see you back here at 14:00.”

 

That afternoon, it was time for each students appraisal with Lieutenant Colonel Carruthers, the battalion commander. Alistair knocked on the door and waited nervously.

 

“Come in.” Alistair opened the door and stepped into the office. Carruthers rose from his chair behind the desk, which had Alistairs file open in front of him. Alistair saluted and Carruthers returned the salute and then held out his hand which Alistair shook.

 

They sat down and Carruthers started the appraisal.

 

“Private McKenzie. How are things going for you?”

 

“Very good Sir. I’m enjoying the course work. I never really took to school sir, but here, it seems different somehow.”

 

Carruthers nodded sagely. “It’s called growing up son. Your results are already exceptional. Your tutors expect great things from you.”

 

“Thank you Sir. Nice of you to say so Sir.”

 

“And how is military life suiting you McKenzie? Some people find the adjustment difficult at first.”

 

“I can’t deny that all that spit and polish is a bit much Sir. I can’t really say it comes naturally to me.”

 

Carruthers chuckled. “I know what you mean. I’ll let you into a secret, I never really got the hang of it either. The wife keeps me in line and makes sure I do it right.”

 

Alistair grinned. “Really Sir, does she have a sister?” Alistair suddenly realised what he had said and the colour drained from his face.

 

The room was filled with a bellowing laugh. “Hah! I like your style lad. But by the look of your uniform, you don’t need a wife. That uniform still looks brand new.”

 

Alistair looked guiltily at his hands and shuffled in his seat.

 

“Is something the matter Private?”

 

“Um, honestly Sir?”

 

“Of course Private. Honesty at all times.”

 

“Well, my uniform looks brand new Sir…. because it is brand new Sir.”

 

“What? Brand new?” the  Lieutenant Colonel said in disbelief.

 

“Yes Sir. I was struggling with the spit and polish so I went to the stores and exchanged my old uniform for a new one Sir.”

 

Carruthers was incredulous. “And what did the Quartermaster think about that?”

 

“Well Sir, he hasn’t given any thought to it at the moment Sir.”

 

“Really? And why not?”

 

“Well Sir, he doesn’t actually know about it, Sir. But I imagine when he finds out, he’ll be wonderin’ how an old uniform ended up in his stores Sir. It’s not like I’ve stolen anythin’ is it Sir? They do say that a fair exchange is no robbery Sir.”

 

Oh yes, an honest answer indeed. This lad was a rogue for sure, but he’s courageous and honest, and he liked that. His chuckle started to bubble up from inside until he couldn’t stop.

 

“You’re a rogue McKenzie, a lovable one at that. I hear on the grapevine that you are an accomplished magician.”

 

“Well I don’t know about that Sir,” he said with false modesty.

 

“I’ll tell you what McKenzie, how would you like to do some after dinner magic at my wife’s dinner party on Friday, and I’ll show you how to spit and polish as you put it?”

 

“Thank you Sir. I’d like that very much. Will I be allowed to keep any money I can spirit away Sir?”

  
The office was once again filled with belly splitting laughter.

 

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

  


 

The Torchwood Range Rover pulled up at the barrier to DSTL and the window lowered. Rose showed her ID to the armed soldier on guard duty, and John leaned across to show his.

 

“John and Rose Smith from Torchwood,” she said. John waved and said ‘hello’ in his cheery voice. “We’re here to see General Chatfield.”

 

The soldier examined their ID badges and looked at them intently, comparing their faces to the photo ID. After he was satisfied he handed them back.

 

“Parking bay one please Ma’am. Then report to the security office to check in your gear.”

 

Rose flashed him her winning smile. “Thank you.”

 

In the security office, they checked in their stun guns and Rose handed over her Glock 17C, semi automatic pistol. John raised an eyebrow and gave her a look of disapproval.

 

The security officer caught the look and looked at her questioningly. Rose rolled her eyes and smiled.

 

“My husband doesn’t like guns,” she explained and then saw him looking at the stun gun John had surrendered. “One’s that kill anyway.”

 

The officer checked though their holdall and their pockets, inspecting the various scanners and high tech equipment, looking for threats. While this was going on, a senior officer entered the office and the soldier saluted.

 

The officer returned the salute and then held out his hand towards John and Rose.

 

“Dr. Smith, Mrs. Smith. My name is General Chatfield. Welcome to The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Please, come through to my office.”

 

The General’s office was a typically utilitarian military office with a wooden desk and chairs. There were message boards on the walls with maps and various despatches pinned on them. Rose and John sat on the chairs and Chatfield sat on the edge of the desk.

 

“So, what can we do for you today,” he asked in a friendly tone.

 

John scowled at him. “You could try giving our samples back for a start.”

 

Rose cast a him a look that told him to wind his neck in. Chatfield put on his puzzled look and smiled.

 

“And what samples would these be?” he asked innocently.

 

“They would be the samples that UNIT thought were going back to their HQ, but we actually tracked here, using secret, high tech covert techniques,” Rose said.

 

“Ah, yes. Right.” He’d been caught out. “Sorry about that. We were asked by the Defence Minister to try and contain an unusual and unknown infection. I hope we didn’t cause any ill feeling between our organisations.”

 

John shrugged. “Well, you could have tried asking. We have a lot of sensitive equipment and experiments running in our labs. A bunch of soldier storming through could do a lot of damage.”

 

“Please accept our apologies Dr. Smith. It was not our intention to antagonise fellow professionals.”

 

“That’s okay. There have been a number of other victims overnight, so we’ve got plenty of specimens to work with.”

 

Chatfield looked surprised. “Really? We haven’t been notified.”

 

Rose sat forward on the chair. “That would be because President Jones has given Torchwood full jurisdiction on this case. Now General, we are presuming that the unusual and unknown infection originated in this establishment.”

 

The General looked horrified. “I can assure you young lady that whatever caused this infection did not come from here!”

 

“Well we have been following leads that tell us it did. And, General,” she said with some annoyance. “I’m no lady, I’m his wife.”

 

It was John’s turn to give Rose the ‘look’. “General, I am scientific advisor to the government. President Jones is expecting me to give a report on my visit today. I will need to talk to your scientific staff and look at your labs.”

 

“I’m sorry Dr. Smith, but a lot of our research is top secret and you are not military personnel,” Chatfield told him.

 

“We have the highest security clearance,” John said. “Higher even than you can imagine. Now, if you don’t believe me, let me use your phone and I’ll call Harriet. I’ve got her private number you know.”

 

Chatfield looked stunned. John just stared at him, arms crossed waiting for him to refuse. Rose looked at John and smiled at him with affection. John raised an eyebrow as a challenge.

 

“Security clearance you say? Right then, very well. Let’s find you a couple of white coats and I’ll take you to the biological research lab.”

 

John leapt out of the chair with his manic grin on his face. “Thank you General. That’s most kind.”

 

At the entrance to the lab, Chatfield entered a number into a keypad and looked into an optical scanner. The lights flashed green and the door lock clicked. Inside the lab it was a typical scene of flasks, test tubes, glass tubing and Bunsen burners.

 

A balding man with a comb-over and thick rimmed glasses, came barrelling down the length of the lab.

 

“Dr. Smith! Dr. Smith, what a pleasure to meet you,” the man enthused.

 

John and Rose were about to groan about being recognised from the gossip magazines, when they were cut short.

 

“That article about you in New Scientist was fascinating. Do you really have all those doctorates? How did you have time to study for them? I barely get time to study the menu in the mess these days, let alone study for another doctorate.” He grabbed John’s hand and pumped it in an enthusiastic handshake.

 

“Dr. Smith, this is our head of biological research, Professor Jenkins,” Chatfield said.

 

“Professor Jenkins? David Jenkins? Geneticist and Nobel Prize winner for research on gene therapy?” John asked in disbelief.

 

“The very same. Oh I have SO wanted to meet you Dr. Smith. Your theories on trans-species gene compatibility are very compelling.”

 

“That’s very kind of you. Please call me John, and this is my wife Rose.”

 

Jenkins shook Rose’s hand. “Pleased to meet you Rose. Please call me David. If I may say, the photograph in ‘Chat’ doesn’t do you justice. You are even more beautiful in the flesh.”

 

Rose would normally have groaned at that, but the man was so likeable, and the idea of a Nobel Prize winning scientist reading ‘Chat’ magazine was hilarious.

 

Jenkins looked over at Chatfield. “Thank you General. I’ll look after my esteemed colleague from here. I’m sure you’ve got some army type things to be doing.”

 

Chatfield looked irritated. “Yes professor. Please bring our guest back to the security office when they are finished.”

 

Jenkins had already turned around to usher them further into the lab. “Yes, yes, of course,” he said distractedly.

 


	7. Epidemic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alistair meets a young lady and gets the courage to ask her out to dinner. He also starts to learn how to ‘buttle’.
> 
> Torchwood are no closer to finding answers and the body count is rising. The Doctor and Rose decide to return to DSTL unannounced to do what they do best.
> 
> Oh, and Alistair meets Pete Tyler for the first time.

 

** Chapter 7 **

 

 

 

** 14 years previously **

 

It was Friday afternoon and Alistair arrived at the Lieutenant Colonel’s house in his dress uniform. After ringing the bell, he could hear a woman’s cultured voice call out.

 

“Samantha dear, would you get the door please?”

 

“Yes Ma’am,” a young woman’s voice replied.

 

The door opened and a young soldier, also in her dress uniform opened the door. Alistair had seen her around the base, she was hard to miss with her red hair and gorgeous smile.

 

“Hi. You must be the entertainment?” she said with a gorgeously mischievous smile.

 

“Alistair. And you must be the hired help?” He said with equal humour which produced a bubbly laugh.

 

“I’m Sam. You’d better come in.” She stood aside so that he could enter.

 

“Who is it dear?” An elegant woman in her 40’s came through to the reception hall. “Oh hello. You must be Alistair.”

 

“Yes Ma’am. Private McKenzie, magician extraordinaire.”

 

The woman gave a short laugh. “Nigel warned me about you,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes. She held out her hand. “Dorothy Carruthers. ‘Magician extraordinaire’ are you? I hope we get a little preview of your abilities.”

 

“What, like a ‘try before you buy’,” he said as he finished shaking her hand. Sam stifled a laugh and Dorothy smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. He shuffled them and fanned them out for her.

 

“Pick a card.” Dorothy ran a finger over the deck and selected one at random. It was the seven of hearts when she looked at it. Alistair handed the deck to Sam.

 

“Okay. Now put the card back in the deck, and if you would shuffle Sam.” Sam shuffled the deck and handed it back to him. He fanned out the deck again and presented it to Sam. “Okay Mrs. Carruthers, Sam will now find your card. Pick a card.”

 

Sam picked a card at random and held it up.

 

“And that is your card.” Sam turned it around. “The nine of clubs,” Alistair announced with a hint of pride.

 

“I’m sorry Alistair, but it isn’t,” Dorothy said, slightly apologetic.

 

“What? Are you sure? It must be the nine of clubs!” It sounded like he was panicking.

 

Sam rolled her eyes. ‘This guy will go down a storm’ she thought. ‘Can’t even get a card trick right’.

 

“Sam, what did you do wrong?” he asked her.

 

“I didn’t do anything. It’s your trick you messed up,” she said indignantly.

 

“It was while you were shuffling, wasn’t it? You palmed the card and put it in your right hand jacket pocket.”

 

“I did no such th….” He was grinning at her with one eyebrow raised. She realised that she had become his assistant in the trick. She reached into the right hand pocket of her dress uniform and felt a card. She took it out and showed it to Dorothy. It was her card.

 

“Oh bravo Alistair, bravo.” She clapped her hands in applause. Sam had a lopsided smile and clapped slowly.

 

“Okay, howdya do it?” she asked him.

 

“A magician never reveals how a trick is performed. But I’ll make an exception in your case….” He hesitated, he’d never been this bold before and he felt butterflies in his stomach. “If you let me buy you dinner.”

 

Sam’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. Alistair felt his stomach churn. She was going to say no, he could feel it. But then she closed her mouth into a smile.

 

“I have next Tuesday off. 19:00 okay for you?”

 

“19:00 it is then,” he said trying to keep his voice calm and under control. Inside he was going ’YES! YES!’ and punching the air.

 

“Oh how lovely,” Dorothy said. “As you are early Alistair, perhaps you would like to learn how to set a table for dinner. Samantha will show you.”

 

She led them through to the dining room and left them to it. Sam went over to the sideboard and picked up a book.

 

“Here, you’ll need this. It tells you everything you need to know.”

 

Alistair took the book and read the title, ‘The Art Of The Table’.

 

“Thanks.”

 

They spent the afternoon preparing the table, with Sam showing him where each bit of cutlery went, along with the crockery and the wine glasses. ‘Talk about military precision’ Alistair thought to himself, ‘this is a work of art’. He understood the title of the book now.

 

“That’s a fine table you two. Well done,” Carruthers said when he entered the dining room. “I say Alistair, as you’ve got to hang around for the after dinner ‘bit’, how would you like to help out young Samantha here and wait on the table?”

 

Alistair would like nothing more than have the opportunity to help out young Samantha, except there was a problem.

 

“I’ve never waited on tables before Sir. I wouldn’t know what to do Sir.”

 

“Ah, right. I can see where that might be a disadvantage,” Carruthers said, rubbing his chin in thought. “But you’re a bright lad, and young Samantha here is obviously a good teacher if the table is anything to go by. Follow her lead and you’ll be fine. What do you say?” He looked at Alistair expectantly, as though he had complete faith in him not to screw it up.

 

“Which side do I pass the port to?” he asked with a smile.

 

Carruthers slapped him on the back. “Hah! That’s the spirit m’lad.”

 

And to his credit, he didn’t screw it up. In fact he quite enjoyed himself. He had never seen anything like a proper dinner party before, and Mrs. Carruthers was utterly charming. It was obvious that she had been born into a family to which this kind of fine dining and entertaining was the norm.

 

The dinner guests were captains, colonels, majors and their partners, and ‘enough brass to make a bedstead’, Alistair thought to himself. Sam would prompt him with a whisper or a nod when it came time to pour wine or clear plates.

 

Before the ladies retired to the drawing room to discuss…. Well, Alistair didn’t know what they discussed. Knitting patterns? He doubted they discussed how ‘fit’ Private so-and-so was, it was time for his display of magic.

 

And Sam was actually correct in her first assessment, he went down a storm. He did card tricks and coin tricks, all close up and in their faces. Things were disappearing left, right and full on in the centre, right in front of their eyes.

 

He finally did his cup and ball trick with three whiskey glasses which apparently converted hazelnuts into walnuts. That brought the house down. After the applause had finished, he handed back watches, bracelets and a pair of trouser braces to their proper owners who all gasped in disbelief that he had been able to take them without anyone noticing.

 

When all the guests had gone, Alistair helped Sam in the kitchen with all the cleaning up. They had worked really well together and enjoyed each others company.

 

Dorothy came in to speak to them. “I just wanted to say thank you to both of you for all your hard work this evening. I think that was one of the best dinner parties we’ve had, and the entertainment was first rate. I do hope you will be available for my other parties Alistair.”

 

“Yes, of course Ma’am. I’d like that. Thank you,” Alistair said, genuinely touched by the offer. The Lieutenant Colonel had also entered the kitchen.

 

“Actually lad, after your performance tonight I wouldn’t mind having you as my batman. What would you say to that?” Carruthers asked him.

 

“Well Sir, I’m not quite sure what a batman is. I don’t have to wear my underpants over my trousers and a cape and do I?”

 

The kitchen filled with laughter. “See Dorothy, what did I tell you? An absolute lovable rogue.” Alistair got another friendly slap on the back.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

John and Rose returned from Porton Down and met with McNab in the Operations Room.

 

“David Jenkins is doing some brilliant work on gene manipulation, but looking at his lab and what I’ve found in those samples, this pathogen is light years ahead of anything he can do. I’ll upload my report before we have lunch, but I can say now that the bugs we found in the zombies were not produced at Porton Down,” John said.

 

“Good work you two. Get that report to Pete as soon as you can, he’s waiting to pass it on to the President.”

 

“No problem. I typed most of it in the car on the way back. I just need to add my conclusions and references.”

 

They met up with Jack and Gwen in the restaurant and found a table together. As they sat down, Jake and his girlfriend Sarah, from reception joined them. They all shuffled around the table to make room.

 

“Where have you been this morning Jack,” Rose asked him.

 

“Doing Admin duties with your father. One of the drawbacks of being Deputy Director,” Jack said with a grin.

 

Rose leaned over and kissed his cheek. “At least your being here means he gets to spend some time at home with the family. You wouldn’t believe the hours he used to put in.”

 

“Oh believe me I would,” Jack said with a laugh.

 

“How was Porton Down?” he asked.

 

“I got the feeling that the General didn’t like us poking around on his turf,” Rose said.

 

“Prof Jenkins was really helpful though, wasn’t he?” John said.

 

Rose laughed. “Only because he’s starting the Wiltshire branch of the Dr. Smith fan club,” she teased.

 

“Any leads?” Jake asked.

 

“No. Although their facilities are top of the range, they couldn’t produce the pathogen that we’ve seen in the victims.”

 

“Talkin’ of victims,” Jake said. “We found Linda Thomas’s car in Wimbledon, but still no sign of her. Don’t ya think we’d have seen her zombified by now?”

 

“Hmm, yes you would have by now,” John said thoughtfully. “Has the car been recovered yet?”

 

“Julia’s gone out with the Vehicle Recovery team to do crime scene investigation. They’ll bring it into the garage when she’s done,” Jake told them.

 

“Rose, Jack, I think we should have a look at that car as soon as it gets in,” John said.

 

“What about Fisher, have they managed to track his movements?” Gwen asked, slapping Jacks hand as he tried to steal a chip off her plate.

 

“Ah yes. Now there they have made progress,” Jake said. “Clive and Danny found him on a few CCTV cameras and worked out that he must have used transportation to get to Thomas’s house in the time scale. They found him on the bus internal CCTV, rummaging through the bag he stole.”

 

“Anything interesting?” John asked.

 

“The recording was a bit low on resolution, so the Media Lab is trying to enhance the image.”

 

“Jack, I think we should put out an appeal for people who have travelled on that bus to check with their local hospital as a precaution,” Rose suggested.

 

“Good idea sweetheart. I’ll get Public Relations to liaise with the television companies and the press.”

 

“Is it really that bad?” Sarah asked, looking nervous and reaching for Jake’s hand.

 

“John ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “I won’t lie to you, it has the potential to turn into a real zombie fest.”

 

Then he grinned. “But there again, you’ve got me, and I’m brilliant me. Just ask Rose.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

 

“And we’ve got the TARDIS, and at the moment she is running a synthesis programme to produce a gene specific antibiotic to neutralize the pathogen.”

 

“Oh thank God,” Sarah gasped.

 

“So let’s get to it and put an end to this.” They all finished lunch and headed out of the restaurant.

 

When Linda Thomas’s car was brought into the Torchwood garage, John, Rose and Jack went to meet Julia.

 

“Hi Julia, what have you got?” John asked.

 

“Renault Clio. four years old. Mechanically sound with half a tank of fuel. Front passenger window smashed with glass still over the seats and footwell. It was parked in a parking restricted area, which is how it was found. The keys were still in the ignition with no sign of a struggle or a hurried exit.”

 

John took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and held it up. “Right, let’s look a bit deeper.”

 

The familiar warbling whistle came from the car as John scanned everything. Rose checked the glove compartment, trying to get a female eye on a woman’s car, looking for anything unusual.

 

“Why would she just leave the keys in the ignition? Was she in a hurry, or was she expecting to come right back?” Rose mused.

 

“Or, maybe she knew she wasn’t coming back to the car,” Jack said starting to get into the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ mind set. “If you don’t need something anymore, you just abandon it.”

 

“John, this all looks so normal in here,” Rose said, closing the glove box.

 

“With the naked eye maybe,” John said distractedly from the driver’s footwell.

 

Rose continued her musings. “And where did she go from here? She’s not shown up on any CCTV. It’s like she’s disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

 

John banged his head on the steering column as he looked up too quickly. “Ow! What did you…. Rose Smith, did I ever tell you you’re brilliant? Jack, do we know what Linda Thomas was wearing yesterday?” John asked.

 

“Hold on, let me get my tablet.” He went to his holdall and reached it out. “Okay, the CCTV in the police station has the best view. Ladies, what do we make of this outfit?”

 

Julia and Rose stood either side and looked at the image.

 

“ooh, that outfit’s a bit frumpy” Julia said.

 

“Yeah. What d’ya think, navy blue polyester cotton?” Rose asked.

 

“Yes. It says very ‘boring scientist’ by day. But you know what they say about the quiet ones,” Julia remarked with a smile.

 

“Who do you think you two are?” Jack laughed. “Trinny and Susannah?”

 

John was studying his sonic. “Well I think our fashion guru’s might be onto something. Let’s get a full vacuum of the seat and send the filters up to Forensics.”

 

In the Forensic Investigation Department, the textiles specialist was examining the retrieved samples under the high power microscope.

 

“There are some navy blue mixed fibres in the sample, but less than expected from a recent contact with the upholstery,” the specialist said.

 

“So not from yesterday then?” Rose asked.

 

“No. I’d say over a week ago. However, we did find this.” The specialist put the sample up on the microscope display.

 

“What is it?” John asked.

 

“No idea,” the specialist said. “It’s not like anything I’ve seen in all my years of doing this job. Some kind of organo-metallic alloy.”

 

At that point the intercom beeped and Chrissie’s voice announced that all members of Blue Watch should report to the Operations Room.

 

Andy McNab was waiting by the media screens when people filed into the room. He clicked his remote and went straight into the briefing.

 

“I thought you should see this straight away, it’s the enhanced images from the bus that Fisher took.” On the screen he could be seen opening the canister.

 

“That’s a safety container for fragile samples,” John said. “And that was in the bag stolen from Linda Thomas?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. And at this point, the bus stops suddenly,” Andy froze the recording.

 

“Did he just spill some over his hand?” Gwen asked. Andy advanced the image slowly.

 

“He’s wiping it on the seat!” Rose exclaimed.

 

“Andy, we have to get the video of everyone who’s sat in that seat after Fisher and use the facial recognition software to trace them. Oh, and pull the bus out of service,” John said.

 

“I’m ahead of you there Doc,” Andy said. “The bus was pulled yesterday and isolated. Bart and John Boy are already on their way back with the DVD’s. Vehicle Recovery are on their way to bring the bus into the garage. ”

 

His face then turned very serious. “I suspect some of the faces on the bus will already be in the hospital. There have been three more admissions with pre-zombie symptoms.”

 

“John. How long before the TARDIS is able to synthesise the antibiotic?” Rose asked, a slight desperation slipping into the tone of her voice.

 

“Because it’s gene specific, it’s going to take a while. We have to try and buy us some time. Excuse me a moment,” John said and ran to the phone, putting it onto speaker. He dialled a number and they heard it ringing.

 

“Hello, Dr. Patterson,” the voice said.

 

“Emily, it’s John Smith.”

 

“Oh John. We need help here. More people are developing symptoms and we have no therapies that work against this infection,” she said. They could hear the desperation and fear in her voice.

 

“Emily. We’re working on it but it’s going to take time. We need to try and slow down the onset of the symptoms, you need to reduce the core body temperature to just above hypothermic. That should slow the pathogen down and allow us the time we need.”

 

“Okay John, I’ll get straight on it.” The phone disconnected and John looked at Rose, she knew that look. He then turned to Andy.

 

“We need to go back to Porton Down, but this time unannounced. I don’t think General Chatfield has been completely honest with us.”

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 13 years previously **

 

‘Peter Alan Tyler. Millionaire. Drinks to your health’. That was the title of the article in The Economist. He read the newspaper title again and chuckled. ‘Who’d have thought it when we were in that pokey little flat,’ he thought.

 

He was on his way to Selfridges to buy a present for his wife. It wasn’t her birthday, or Christmas, it was just that he could and so he would. He put the newspaper under his arm and turned to walk down Oxford Street, when he accidentally bumped into someone.

 

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he said to the stranger.

 

“No problem,” the young man replied and walked on.

 

Pete walked down the street towards the entrance of the store.

 

“SIR! Excuse me sir.” Pete heard someone calling and looked around. A young man in a military uniform was holding something in the air and looking at him. There was an attractive redhead in uniform next to him.

 

The young soldier marched purposefully towards him and held out a leather wallet.

 

“You dropped this sir when that young man bumped into you.”

 

Pete took the wallet and looked at it. It was indeed his wallet. Pete looked up at the soldier and smiled.

 

“Thank you,” Pete said. “Here, let me give you something.” Pete opened the wallet to take out some notes.

 

The soldier raised his hands, palms facing Pete. “No need sir, honestly. But you need to take care of that though, there are a lot of pickpockets about, and not everyone is as honest as me,” he said with a charming smile.

 

“If you’re sure? Well, you’re a credit to that uniform young man. What’s your name?”

 

“Private Alistair McKenzie sir.” Sam had walked up beside him and took his arm. “And this is Corporal Samantha Gardner,” he said with a smile.

 

Pete held out his hand. “Pete Tyler, nice to meet you Private McKenzie, Corporal Gardner.” They shook hands and Pete held up his wallet. “Thanks again. You two have a nice day.”

 

“That was really nice of you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

 

“Hey, that’s the kind of guy I am.” he told her.

 

“You do realise who that was, don’t you?” she asked, knowing that he could have had a really big reward for returning his wallet.

 

“Who doesn’t? He seems like a nice guy…. Oh, I’ve just thought. I need to go to a cash point to get some money out. Tell you what, you go to the jewellery counter and start browsing. I’ll be back in a tick.”

 

“Okay, don’t be long.”

 

“I won’t,” he told her and kissed her on the cheek.

 

When he saw her go in the Selfridges, he jogged down Oxford Street until he caught up with the young man Pete had bumped into.

 

“Don’t you know who that was? Haven’t you seen him on the news? Pete Tyler.” Alistair clipped the young man around the ear.

 

“You don’t go lifting the wallet of one of the most popular millionaires in the country you fuckwit. Read a newspaper occasionally and they might not throw away the key when you get nicked.”

 

Alistair smiled his charming smile, gently slapped the man’s cheek a couple of times before making his way back to Selfridges.

 

They were on leave, and Alistair was buying her a bracelet to celebrate her new promotion to Corporal.

 

When they would return to the base, they were to be posted abroad for their first field assignment with the allied forces countering terrorism.

 


	8. Covert operation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst alert in this chapter as Alistair gets posted abroad.
> 
> The Doctor and Rose go back to DSTL in their TARDIS, and just like the old days they get into trouble.
> 
> They finally see who is responsible for the pathogen. Thanks to wikipedia.org for the list of Dr Who aliens who fit the bill.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_universe_creatures_and_aliens_%280-9%29_%26_%28A-G%29#Canisian

  
** Chapter 8 **

 

 

 

 

General Chatfield was back at his desk in his office reading through duty rosters for the next week. There was a knock at the door.

 

“Come in.” The door opened and Professor Jenkins walked in.

 

“You wanted to see me again General?” he asked, this was twice in as many days.

 

“Ah yes Professor, thank you for coming to see me before you leave. Please have a seat.” He indicated the same chair as before. “I just wanted to discuss our visitors this morning.”

 

“Oh yes, Dr. Smith and his lovely wife. It was a real honour to meet them you know. Did you know they were awarded the George Cross?”

 

“Yes, yes. Very commendable. Now, during their visit, did you show them all of your work?”

 

“Well, yes, of course. Dr. Smith is an advisor to the Government; he has the highest security clearance.”

 

“Yes, I know. I double checked as soon as I got back to my office. Now, as this is a military facility and you are a civilian, I will need you to provide a full report on the visit. What they saw, what they asked, that sort of thing.”

 

“Yes of course General. Is there anything wrong?”

 

“No not at all Professor, just routine. You know what the Ministry is like for reports.” Chatfield leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

 

“Did they ask you for your opinion on the samples that were brought in from Torchwood?” he asked after some thought.

 

“Yes they did. That was the main reason for their visit I believe.”

 

“Mmm. And what is your opinion Professor?”

 

“I haven’t formed one yet. From what Dr. Smith was telling me, he believes the pathogen is quite unique and has some remarkable properties. We are treating it as a Category A Priority Pathogen, work will be slow I’m afraid.”

 

“Yes of course, following protocol. Thank you Professor. If you could let me have your report sometime tomorrow that would be very helpful.”

 

“Of course General. If that’s all then, I’ll be off,” Jenkins said as he stood to leave.

 

Chatfield smiled at him. “Yes, that’s everything Professor. See you tomorrow.”

  
Jenkins walked to the door and opened it, casting the General a suspicious look before leaving.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

** 13 years previously **

 

The convoy of military vehicles rattled its way along the dusty winding mountain pass like an arthritic snake. This region had only recently been liberated by the allied forces, and they needed to get men on the ground and establish a forward base of operations.

 

Private McKenzie was driving the M.E.W.T, the mobile electronic warfare team vehicle, a high tech satellite and telecommunications station that would keep all troops in the field, air support and HQ linked together for coordinated action.

 

By his side were Lance Corporal Samantha Gardner and Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Carruthers, for whom this would be his last tour of duty in the field. Forward communications was always the riskiest mission, and Alistair had always managed to blag the easier, base HQ assignments.

 

## This time however, his newly promoted girlfriend had been given the assignment, and well…. He couldn’t just sit there in HQ wondering what she was up to, he had to be at her side, working as a team.

 

He was the Communication Systems Engineer, responsible for setting up the equipment and keeping it working, and she the Communication Systems Operator who kept everyone up to date with the latest intelligence and orders.

## Carruthers was there as senior officer to make sure everything went smoothly and offer advice from his wealth of experience. He had been on these missions before and knew what it was like for the ‘rookies’ on their first outing.

 

The first of the vehicles started to descend into the valley ahead, when the radio came to life.

 

“All units, this is convoy command. We are now entering the ‘badlands’. Repeat we are now entering the ‘badlands’.” A Westland WAH-64 Apache Longbow attack helicopter flew over them and headed down into the valley looking for insurgent snipers.

 

It was about 30 minutes later when Alistair looked into the gates of hell. An improvised explosive device took out the lead vehicle. They all flinched at the sudden, deafening sound, and then looked on in horror as debris fell from the sky. He felt his breakfast coming back up his gullet as he saw an arm bounce off the vehicle in front and hit the windscreen.

 

Carruthers was the first to respond and gave them orders. “Out your side McKenzie. Let’s get between the cliff and the truck.”

 

Alistair opened the door and dropped down onto the dirt track. He wanted to help Sam down. It was strange, even in this completely uncivilised and barbaric situation, he wanted to act like a gentleman.

 

Sam ignored him and jumped down, quickly followed by Carruthers, who ran to the back of the M.E.W.T and opened the door. The rattle of automatic weapons could be heard from all around them and across the valley.

 

Using the armoured door as shield he held it open for the other two to climb in. Once inside they started flicking switches to power up the unit.

 

“They must be hiding in small caves to hide their heat signatures from the choppers,” Carruthers told them. “We have to get word to HQ about the ambush.”

 

“They’re not stupid,” Alistair said. “They waited until we were deep in the valley so that we would have to wait for satellite reassignment. We’re deaf and dumb at the moment.”

 

“Hopefully the chopper has managed to relay a message,” Sam said. At which point, a surface to air missile streaked from across the valley and caused the chopper to explode in a ball of flame.

 

“Oh dear God!” Sam exclaimed.

 

The convoy was returning fire to the cliffs across the valley with their own rocket launchers.

 

“We have to get an uplink so that we can coordinate the counter strike,” Carruthers announced.

 

“Sir. Let me take the T.L.K. I can climb up through the rocks. When I’m high enough I should be able to acquire the satellite and relay the feed to you here,” Alistair suggested. The theatre liaison kit, was a rapid deployment mobile liaison office with worldwide secure broadband satcom connectivity. It was used as a theatre and reach-back communications networking system.

 

“I don’t know McKenzie, it’s too risky.”

 

“No riskier than sitting here like a target at the bomb range Sir.”

 

“It’s a hell of a climb soldier. Do you think you can do it?” The vehicle shuddered from a nearby explosion.

 

“I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to it Sir, but people shooting at me has always been a hell of an incentive to get a move on.”

 

“Alright, make the attempt.” He turned to Sam. “Gardner, get on the radio and request covering fire. And Alistair…. Good luck.”

 

“Thank you Sir,” he said as he shouldered the T.L.K. He looked at Sam, who had a look of concern on her face. “Hey, it’ll be Okay. Just be ready for my uplink signal.” He reached up and held her cheek in his hand.

 

“Permission to break protocol Sir,” he said to Carruthers with a grin.

 

“Erm, I suppose so under the circumstances.”

 

Alistair leaned forwards and kissed her passionately on the lips. She could feel he was trembling from the adrenalin that was now pumping around his body.

 

“Stay safe,” she whispered. Without another word he leapt out of the back of the vehicle and disappeared.

 

“Ah. Dorothy told me about you two,” he said with a smile. “Jolly good too.”

 

Alistair was no hero. He was under no illusions about that. He’d been in scary situations before, when he used to be someone else in another life. And here he was again, in another scary situation.

 

He scrambled up the sloping ground using rocks and scrub as cover until he came to a gulley. He was able to run up the gulley with the sound of a gunfight echoing around him. The gulley eventually became shallow and turned into a dried up watercourse that ran above the road. When he looked back he could just see the tail end of the convoy.

 

As he moved around a large rock, his heart froze along with the passage of time. He was face to face with a man with weathered skin, tangled beard and missing teeth. He wore a turban and tattered fatigues which had a pungent odour of someone who had been living out here for a long time without access to a bar of soap.

 

They just stood there, staring at each other. Neither one sure as to what would happen next. ‘Now what?’ Alistair thought to himself, when the question was answered. The insurgent started to turn his sniper rifle in his direction.

 

Alistair had his SA80 assault rifle hanging on the shoulder strap. It was a simple case of reaching the trigger and pulling it before the cumbersome sniper rifle could point at him. There were a half dozen tapping noises as the rifle spit out its deadly ammunition, and the man fell backwards.

 

Alistair continued his run up the side of the valley until his combat computer told him he was high enough to make the uplink. He found a safe location behind a rock and opened up the T.L.K. He took out the self seeking dish mount and put it on top of the rock.

 

The dish moved in erratic spirals until it acquired the satellite and his panel went green. He opened up a channel to the M.E.W.T.

 

“Mike Charlie Zero Two, calling Mike Charlie Zero One. Do you copy? Over.”

 

He was overjoyed when Sam’s voice came back over the link. “Roger that Mike Charlie Zero Two. I have your signal five by five, clean and green. Over.”

 

He collapsed back against the rock, sweat pouring off him. He had just run up the side of a mountain with 50 pounds of kit on his back…. and killed a man. He wondered if he had any family, and how they would cope without him. Would they even find out that he was dead?

 

He was listening to Sam’s voice as she relayed information back to HQ and map coordinates for missile strikes. He felt pride swelling in his chest, that his girlfriend was instrumental in saving the convoy. All he’d done was run away up the mountain.

 

The first Alistair knew that something was terribly wrong is when Sam’s voice suddenly stopped coming from the T.L.K. He naturally assumed that there was an equipment failure, and technically, I suppose you could say there was.

 

The severity of the failure became apparent seconds later when the blast wave hit and blew the dish off the rock.

 

The horror of the failure, that caused the contents of his stomach to spew over the dry and dusty ground, was when pieces of his commanding officer and his girlfriend started raining down around him like hailstones from the very depths of hell.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

A large, grey metal storage cabinet slowly appeared against the far wall of Professor Jenkins’s laboratory at Porton Down. It made a sound like the universe had a bad case of emphysema, wheezing and groaning itself into existence.

 

Unusually for a storage cabinet, the doors opened inwards and two occupants stepped out into the dark room.

 

“Oh you clever girl!” John cooed quietly at their TARDIS, as he stroked the metal cabinet. “See Rose? That’s what a chameleon circuit is supposed to do,” he said as he closed the doors.

 

“It does blend right in doesn’t it.”

 

“Too right, and if you open the doors outwards….” He opened the cabinet doors to reveal…. A cabinet full of spare laboratory equipment. “Only the TARDIS key will allow the doors to be opened inwards.”

 

“That’s brilliant. I’m sensing that she’s rather pleased with herself.”

 

“Quite right too. Now let’s see if we can find where they are producing this zombie pathogen. There must be another lab hidden somewhere nearby.”

 

“What, like a secret lab, in a secret lab, in a secret base?” Rose asked with her tongue-in-teeth smile.

 

“Oh I like that. A secret, secret, secret lab. Imagine if it was on New Earth?”

 

“John. Let’s not go there. We haven’t got time,” Rose told him, imagining all the ‘news’ and ‘secrets’ he would try and get into the title.

 

They’d had a good look around earlier in the day, but that had been somewhat guided by Professor Jenkins. Now they wanted to look at the things they hadn’t been shown.

 

“John, let’s try this door at the back,” Rose whispered as she tried the handle. It was locked. John took out his sonic and unlocked the door, quietly pushing it open and putting his head through the gap. He then pushed it wider and they both stepped in.

 

“A storeroom,” Rose said as John scanned with his sonic. There were shelves with all sorts of scientific equipment on them, as well as boxes of test tubes, flasks and all the other consumables needed in a laboratory.

 

John followed the sonic to a metal cabinet that was not unlike the TARDIS’s disguise. When John opened it, a small light came on similar to a refrigerator, which showed that the cabinet was empty, not even any shelves in it.

 

“That’s odd don’t you think? All these shelves full of equipment, and an empty cabinet?” John asked.

 

He stepped inside and turned to face Rose with a grin. “Care to join me?”

 

Rose stepped into the cabinet beside him and he closed the doors. “Hey! This isn’t the time for any shenanigans in the storeroom,” She told him jokingly.

 

“Oh I don’t know? This might be exactly the time.” He pointed the sonic at the floor and pressed the button. The doors of the cabinet started to rise in front of them, as the floor started to descend.

 

“A secret elevator! That’s clever,” Rose said.

 

The floor stopped descending and they just stood there in silence, listening for any sign of movement outside. John nodded to the top pocket of her uniform where she kept her scanner, picking up his telepathic reasoning that his sonic made a noise and her Torchwood scanner didn’t.

 

She adjusted the range of the scan to account for the thin steel door and did a proximity sweep of the area outside the cabinet. According to the readings, it was a corridor and it was all clear. Rose nodded to John to open the door, which he did and popped his head outside. The corridor was empty. He stepped out of the cabinet elevator and Rose followed.

 

It was a dimly lit white corridor with panels, pipes and conduits, just the kind of thing you would expect in a run-of-the-mill star ship. Rose paused for a moment at that thought. Until a certain man grabbed her hand and said run, a star ship and its corridor would have been anything but run-of-the-mill.

 

At staggered intervals along the corridor were doors with round windows at head height. They went to the first door and John quickly looked through the window and then pulled back. In that brief instant he had taken in the whole room, and it was empty.

 

On the corridor wall was a hand sized panel which was obviously a biometric lock. John adjusted the sonic screwdriver and ran the blue beam over his right hand. He adjusted it again and ran it over the panel, placing his palm on the panel when he’d finished.

 

The door lock ‘clunked’ followed by a ‘hiss’, and then slowly swung inwards. They stepped inside and Rose saw that they were in a high tech laboratory with dim emergency lighting. It looked like a star ship laboratory off one of those sci-fi shows that John found so amusing.

 

“Wow!” Rose whispered. “This is SO Spock.” She had first used that term in 1940’s London, when she wanted high tech space ships like Jack had, with scanners, lasers and stuff. All the Doctor had was a temperamental wooden box and a novelty fountain pen that whistled.

 

“This is definitely off-world tech,” John said quietly as he scanned with his ‘novelty pen’. “Gene manipulators, molecular deconstructor, atom compilers. What the hell is this stuff doing under a laboratory in one of the most sensitive military establishments?”

 

“Well it would be out of the way of pryin’ eyes,” Rose suggested. “With all the military discipline and security, no one’s gonna be pokin’ around.”

 

Suddenly there was a ‘clunk’ and a ‘hiss’ as the door was being opened. Rose instinctively dropped to the floor behind a workbench, with her stunner instinctively in her hand. She saw John’s legs by the side of her and reached up with one hand to grab the front of his uniform and pull him down.

 

They heard someone step into the room and walk towards them. Rose frantically motioned for John to crawl to the end of the workbench and go around the corner. They quietly scrambled across the floor and just made it around the corner, as someone in a white lab coat walked past and stopped at a piece of equipment.

 

They could hear beeping noises as buttons were pressed, and a click as a hatch was opened and closed. Then there was a whirring sound as the equipment worked. Curiosity was getting the better of Rose. She wanted to see what was going on, but didn’t want to get spotted.

 

John saw her rummaging in one of her top pockets, pull out her makeup compact case and open it up. ‘Hell of a time to check your lipstick’ he thought, and then chastised himself for questioning his brilliant wife. She carefully positioned the mirror so that it would peep around the corner. John moved his head against hers so that he could see as well.

 

‘This person will be late for the party’, Rose thought as she looked in the mirror. It appeared that the technician was wearing a metallic red wig. There was something about the face as well. Although she could only see the face from the side, she could swear that the eyes were glowing red.

 

John held her hand and gently pulled it away from the edge. Rose looked at him and saw the worried look on his face. She had learned along time ago that when the Doctor was worried, everyone else should be scared.

 

The machine stopped whirring, and the hatch opened and closed. The technician walked away and they heard the door ‘clunk’ and ‘hiss’. They both carefully stood up, making sure the room was empty. Rose holstered her stun gun.

 

“John? What’s with the worried face? You recognised that technician, didn’t you?”

 

“Yes, from the old universe. And if they’re the same as back there, we’re in trouble. We’ll need some evidence that this place exists so that we can call for a raid. Would you take some images with your scanner before we go?”

 

“Yeah, sure.” She started snapping pictures of all the alien equipment. When she’d finished, she looked a bit puzzled.

 

“I can’t upload the images to the Torchwood server.”

 

“There must be something blocking the signal down here. Come on, let’s get back topside and get out of here.”

 

They went back to the door and looked along the corridor as far as they could through the window. John activated the door and it ‘clunked’ and ‘hissed’ open. They looked both ways and quickly stepped into the corridor, heading back to the elevator, when they heard the now familiar ‘clunk’ and ‘hiss’ from the far end of the corridor.

 

Without looking back they ran as quietly as they could to the cabinet doors and hurriedly climbed inside. As John closed the doors, they could see one of the red headed technicians stepping into the corridor.

 

“Do you think they saw us?” Rose asked.

 

“I don’t think so. It looked like they were going further down the corridor.”

 

John operated the sonic and the elevator started to ascend up to the storeroom. Once again, Rose scanned for any heat signatures in the room and found none. John poked his head out and looked around the room.

 

“All clear,” he announced and they headed for the door to the lab. They stepped into the lab and headed for the TARDIS. John was about to put the key in the lock when they heard a metallic click behind them.

 

“If I’m not mistaken,” Rose said. “That’s the sound of two SA80 assault rifles bein’ cocked ready to fire.”

 

“DON’T MOVE” a voice said behind them.

 

“When we get home Rose, we need to talk about this fascination you’ve developed with firearms,” John said.

 

“HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS. ON YOUR KNEES. NOW!” the voice commanded.

 

“We’re Torchwood agents,” Rose started to explain. “We….”

 

“SILENCE!” A handcuff was secured around one wrist and her arm was roughly forced behind her. A hand grabbed her other wrist and pulled it down into the other handcuff. She looked over and saw that the same was happening to John.

 

“There’s no need to be so rough,” John said. “I’m sure we can sort all of this out without having to resort to violence.”

 

They were dragged to their feet and turned to look at their captors. They were two army privates, obviously on guard duty that night.

 

“You’ll have chance to explain it all to the General. Now move.” They were marched and pushed out of the lab and across base to the Guard House, where they were made to stand in front of a reception desk. The duty sergeant looked at them with raised eyebrows.

 

“Who’ve we got here then?” he asked one of the privates.

 

“Intruders Sir. We found them in the biological research lab.” He replied as he started to relieve them of their equipment.

 

“Really? Black uniforms, weapons, high tech espionage equipment. It looks like you’ve caught a couple of terrorists here lads, well done,” the sergeant said.

 

“Terrorists?” John exclaimed in horror. “We’re not terrorists. We’re Torchwood agents. Listen we have to get word to Director Tyler quickly. There’s an alien lab under the base, and it’s producing a pathogen that’s turning people into zombies.”

 

Rose looked at him with a resigned look on her face. “Do you realise how crazy that sounds? And I know it’s true.”

 

The soldiers burst out laughing and the sergeant turned to John. “Name?”

 

“Dr. John Smith. Scientific advisor to the President,” he said, hoping his title would pull some weight.

 

The sergeant rolled his eyes as he wrote it down in the custody book. “John Smith. Not very original.” He turned to Rose. “And you?”

 

“Rose Marion Smith.”

 

“Well, that’s a bit more imaginative. I was expectin’ Jane or somethin’.”

 

“My maiden name was Tyler. I’m Pete Tyler’s daughter.” The sergeant looked at her blankly. “Y’know, the Vitex heiress.”

 

They all started laughing again. “You must have seen us in the magazines,” she said, for once happy to have been the target of the paparazzi’s attention.

 

“Nope, sorry Love. Cells one and two lads until the General gets here.”

 

“No, you don’t understand!” John told them as they dragged them away. “Everyone on Earth is in danger. All seven billion of us.”

 


	9. Captured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose shows the Doctor some skills that she’s learnt since she’s been in Pete’s World.  
> They finally find out what’s going on and who’s responsible, and Torchwood mount a rescue operation.

 

** Chapter 9 **

 

 

 

 

Rose was pushed into a small cell which contained a cot and a toilet, and that was it. She heard John being put in a cell next door. ‘Bloody handcuffs again’, she thought to herself.

 

{“I know. What is it with you and handcuffs?”} John asked cheekily in her head.

 

{“John. What are we gonna do? These soldiers don’t believe us, and Chatfield will lock us away so we can’t warn anyone.”} Rose stepped through the handcuffs so that they were in front of her and sat on the cot.

 

{“I know, we’re going to have to try and get out of here, or at least get a message out…. Of course! Rose, slap your thigh three times.”}

 

{“The transponder. Brilliant.”} Rose slapped her right thigh three times, which activated and emergency beacon. It was one of John’s inventions for Rose after she had been kidnapped, and now all field agents had them.

 

They were rub on transfers made of nano-circuits that formed a transponder. They could not be distinguished from a real tattoo and they could only be removed by a special plastic foil that they were stored on.

 

Activation of the transponder was by slapping them three times, or by a coded signal from Torchwood. Rose’s tattoo was her name in Gallifreyan, which consisted of concentric circles, swirls and bars.

 

She crossed her ankle up onto her knee and started fiddling with the heel of her boot. {“You haven’t told me who the people in the metallic red wigs are yet.”}

 

{“They’re not wigs, that’s their hair. In the old universe they were called Caxtarids or Ke Caxtari,”} he started to explain. Rose pulled out a set of lock picks from the heel and started working on the handcuffs.

 

{“They come from the star system Lalande 21185, and are expert torturers. In the old universe, they were wiped out by a virus that destroyed their DNA. But that doesn’t happen for another 500 years, if at all in this universe.”}

 

{“So why are they here makin’ zombies?”} Rose asked distractedly as she worked on the lock.

 

{“They developed an aggressive and expansionist space faring civilisation. Caxtarid Corporations will conquer Kapteyn 5, home of more than sixty sentient kapteynian species including avians and butterfly people, and they’ve strip-mined a dozen inhabited worlds.... Rose, what are you doing?”}

 

{“Pickin’ the lock on my handcuffs,”} she said as though it was the most natural thing to be doing whilst chatting telepathically.

 

{“What?! How?”}

 

{“I’ve got a set of lock picks in the heel of my boots.”}

 

{“You’ve been spending far too much time with McNab.”}

 

{“Actually, it was Alistair. He tried to keep me occupied while I was pining for you after Canary Wharf.”} The lock clicked and the cuff fell open. {”That’s got it.”}

 

{“You were pining for me? Oh that is so sweet.”}

 

{“Shut up”,} she thought playfully. {“Right let’s have a go at the door lock. You were sayin’ about the Caxy-thingy?”} She knelt in front of the door and started on the lock, now that one wrist was free of its restraint.

 

{“Caxtarids. They’re cruel and vicious, and usually deal in slave trading, which is why I think the Earth is in trouble…. Wait. Someone’s coming.”}

 

‘Damn’, Rose thought. She stood up and closed the handcuffs enough so that she could squeeze her hand in and out and then forced a wire lock pick into the ratchet so that it couldn’t close anymore. She put the rest of the picks in the arm pocket as she heard the door being unlocked.

 

The door opened and Chatfield was standing in the doorway.

 

“Mrs. Smith. Fancy seeing you here again so soon,” he said and then looked down the corridor. “And the esteemed Dr. Smith. To what do we owe this visit?”

 

“As if you didn’t know?” Rose said bitterly.

 

“I’m afraid I haven’t a clue what you are talking about, but perhaps you’d like to explain. Bring them through to my office,” he commanded.

 

The guards indicated the direction they should walk with their assault rifles. John and Rose followed Chatfield out of the Guard House towards his office. John noticed that an articulated lorry was being loaded with pallets of bottles in the stores area of the base.

 

They were pushed onto the two wooden chairs, while Chatfield sat behind his desk. The two guards left the room and stood outside the door. Chatfield leaned forward on his desk, weaving his fingers together.

 

“So, breaking into a sensitive military facility,” he started. He looked into the two plastic boxes of their confiscated equipment. “Armed, and with espionage equipment. Do you know the penalty for terrorism? Treason even?”

 

John scowled at him. “You know we’re not terrorist,” he said. “And as for traitors, isn’t that the kettle calling the pot black?”

 

He looked over to Rose. “Did I say that the right way around? I’m never sure on that one.”

 

“It’ll do,” she said, smiling. {“I have one wrist free. I can reach for a stunner and take him down.”}

 

{“That’s good to know. Hold on to that thought, I want to see if I can get him to tell us what he’s up to first.”} “And technically, we didn’t break in. You’ll find no evidence of forced entry or compromised security systems.”

 

“Don’t bandy words with me Smith. What were you after in that lab?”

 

“That’s Dr. Smith to you Chatfield. And I wasn’t after anything in that lab. It’s the one you’ve got underneath that I’m interested in.” There was a slight scuffling noise outside the door.

 

“What are you talking about, ‘underneath’?”

 

Rose took up the conversation. “Come on General, you can drop the act. We’ve seen the alien laboratory under the biological research lab, staffed with Caxtarid technicians. That’s why the contaminated bodies and samples were brought here, wasn’t it?”

 

“You two really are delusional.”

 

Before Chatfield could continue, the door opened and Professor Jenkins walked in, carrying a weapon that was obviously off-world.

 

“John, Rose. How nice to see you again,” he said cheerfully. “I’m afraid the General doesn’t have a clue what you are talking about.”

 

“Jenkins! What’s the meaning of this?” Chatfield demanded as he stood up.

 

Jenkins pointed the plasma caster at him. “Sit down General, or I’ll be forced to blow you into your composite atoms.”

 

“General. I’d sit down if I were you. That weapon is a standard issue Caxtarid plasma caster. Trust me, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of it,” John told him.

 

{“John?”} Rose asked in his head.

 

“You know of us?” Jenkins asked. “You are full of surprises. I really wish I had the time to talk with you.”

 

{“Are you tellin’ me Jenkins is the bad guy?”}

 

“I bet you do,” John said. “What with though, the Prompter of Confessions, or maybe the Manacle of Flesh?” {“Yep. But that’s not him. He’s using a shimmer.”}

 

“Hah! You really do know us. What a shame.”

 

“So what’s this all about then? You lot branching out into biological weapons now? You never used to deal in arms, just bodies,” John said.

 

“Well, in a way we still are dealing in ‘bodies’ as you put it. Do you know the average life expectancy of a soldier on the battlefield? I’m sure the General can enlighten us.” Jenkins flicked the weapon at him, indicating that he wanted him to speak.

 

“20 minutes,” Chatfield said.

 

“Yes, 20 minutes. All that time and money spent training them, only to have them wiped out in the first 20 minutes of a battle. How many troops would that be if the war lasted for centuries?”

## John was about to ask how many centuries so that he could give him an accurate number.

 

“It was a rhetorical question Doctor. But imagine an army of soldiers who were already dead. An army that creates more soldiers from the dead of its enemies. All a conqueror need do is wait for the enemy to be completely overwhelmed, and then wait for them to rot.”

 

“And you direct them remotely using serial microwave data fed through any available transmitter,” John concluded. “Brilliant. That is truly remarkable.”

 

“What?!” Rose said incredulously.

 

“Oh completely sick, twisted and insane. But very clever. Welll, in a psychopathic, megalomaniac, world domineering sort….”

 

“Enough! Get up.”

 

“What are you going to do?” Chatfield asked.

 

“Me? I’m going to a secure location to sit it out and to organise transport for seven billion dead soldiers to a war zone for my client. You on the other hand are going to the cells to become three of them. Once we’ve emptied the planet, we can strip its resources.”

 

{“John. What’s the physiology like on these Caxtarids, can I take him?”}

 

{“Rose, he has a weapon that will turn you to dust. His physiology is different to humans, you don’t know where to hit him. Just play along, help is on the way.”}

 

Jenkins threw some handcuffs at Chatfield. “Put those on with your hands behind you.”

 

Once Chatfield was cuffed, they were ushered out of his office and back towards the Guard House.

 

When they entered the Guard House reception the Sergeant stood to attention and saluted his commanding officer.

 

“Good evenin’ General.”

 

“Good evening Sergeant. The prisoners are returning to their cells now,” he said, feeling the plasma caster poke him in the ribs. “You can stand at ease and carry on with what you were doing.”

 

The sergeant looked puzzled. “But Sir, I have to lock them in. and sign the book Sir.”

 

Chatfield was getting agitated. “It’s a security matter Sergeant. I’m afraid you don’t have clearance. Give the keys to Professor Jenkins, he will be coming out before I do, he’ll sign the book.”

 

“It’s a bit irregular Sir, but if you’re sure Sir.” He took the keys off the hook and handed them to Jenkins.

 

As they turned to go through to the cells, the Sergeant noticed that his commanding officer was in handcuffs.

 

“Hang on a minute, what’s goin’ on.” Jenkins turned and raised the weapon. The Sergeant disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving a man shaped cloud of dust to slowly dissipate. Rose gasped in horror.

 

Jenkins waved the gun to indicate the way through to the cells and they went through the door and into the first cell.

 

“Well, it’s been nice meeting you all. I’m off to make the preparations to secure the bunker now. Once we are safely tucked away, the whole base will be infected. Sorry about that, but business is business,” Jenkins said finally and slammed the door shut.

 

Rose slipped her hand out of the handcuff and slapped John’s chest three times. “They’ll be worried sick if they don’t see your beacon,” she said.

 

She reached into her arm pocket, took out the lock picks and started working on John’s handcuffs. Chatfield looked on in complete amazement.

 

“Would one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?” he asked.

 

“Ah, yes, right. What’s going on? First of all General, we owe you an apology. We suspected you of creating and releasing the pathogen.”

 

“Got it John,” Rose called from behind him. “I can work quicker when I’ve got both hands free.”

 

“Well done Love. Get to work on the General’s cuffs, while I have a look at the door.” Rose handed him a pick and he went over to the door. Kneeling down, he continued talking.

 

“Where to start? A bunch of aliens have set up a lab under your base to produce a bug that will turn the whole of the human race into mindless zombies.”

 

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Chatfield said.

 

“Deadly serious I’m afraid. And unless we get out of here quickly, we are all doomed,” John told him.

 

“Got it General,” Rose announced as she freed one of the handcuffs. She moved over next to John. “We’re fortunate these cells are quite old and have a keyhole on the inside, otherwise we’d be stuffed.”

 

“I must say you two are a remarkable couple,” Chatfield said in admiration.

 

“You don’t know the half of it General,” Rose said with a single laugh. “John. Jenkins said the whole base would be contaminated. Any idea how he’ll do that?”

 

“I’ve been giving some thought to that, trying to put the pieces together,” John said. “We know the pathogen is transferred by direct skin contact with contaminated liquid, ingestion, or by a bite from an infected person. I think they plan to use all three methods to get everyone on the planet.”

 

He had a matter-of-fact tone in his voice which Rose found strangely reassuring, because it meant it was a matter-of-fact that he wasn’t going to let it happen.

 

Firstly, did you notice that articulated lorry being loaded with bottles outside the stores.”

 

“Yes, what’s all that about General?” Rose asked.

 

“That was a product recall by Vitex. Something about a batch of bottles with faulty caps that could cause the contents to go off.”

 

“Has Pete mentioned anything to you about a faulty batch Rose?”

 

“No. Then again, he doesn’t always tell us every little problem at Vitex.”

 

“Mmmm. Okay, I’ll give you that one. But do you remember on old Earth there was a drink that was available in nearly every country in the world?”

 

“What, Tea?”

 

“No,” John said rolling his eyes. “Coca Cola. You could get it anywhere. What’s this worlds equivalent?”

 

“Well that’s Dad’s drink, Vitex…. Oh my God. Are you tellin’ me they’ve contaminated the most popular drink on the planet.”

 

“Yeah. I’ll bet you a pound to a penny that those bottles contained the pathogen.”

 

“The bastards! Using Dad’s product to kill the human race.” Rose’s face had a look of thunder. “I’m not havin’ that John. This suddenly got very personal.”

 

John couldn’t help but smile at his ‘wolf girl’. “As for the base, I think they will use the direct contact with contaminated water.”

 

“And how will they manage that,” she asked.

 

“I think he might activate the fire alarm.”

 

“The fire alarm?” Rose questioned.

 

“The fire alarm,” Chatfield said in realisation. “Of course.” He looked up at the ceiling sprinkler system. The base was covered with them.

 

They continued struggling with the lock. “This is a big, heavy lock Rose. I don’t know if these picks will cope with the levers.”

 

“And I always wear a sports bra to work, otherwise we could have used the underwire as a pick.” John was temporarily distracted by thinking about his wife’s bra, when the room was suddenly filled with concrete dust.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

Pete Tyler sat on the sofa cradling his sleeping grandson, slowly becoming drowsy and catching him up. He had managed to get home just after seven, where he sat down for dinner with Jackie. It had been a heavy day, what with meetings with the President and her cabinet.

 

Fortunately, he had Jack Harkness now, and his extensive experience of heading Torchwood Three in the other universe was a God send. Jack was able to help with the day-to-day running of his office, while he was called away to parliamentary meetings.

 

Rose had called her Mum and asked if she would have EJ for a bit longer, while she and John did a late reconnaissance mission. Jackie was only too happy to have her grandson for as long as she could.

 

So Pete had taken his son, Tony up to bed and settled in front of the football on TV, enjoying the company of Eyulf, who had snuggled into the crook of his arm and fallen asleep. Jackie had gone upstairs to have a long soak in the bath.

 

When his mobile phone rang, it made him jump. He must have dropped off because the score on TV was now 2 - 1. He carefully retrieved his phone from his pocket, taking care not to wake up EJ. The caller ID said Torchwood. Damn!

 

“Pete Tyler. What’s up?” He knew something was ‘up’, they wouldn’t call him otherwise.

 

It was Duncan ‘Donuts’ Prescott, Andy McNab’s second in command. “Pete, it’s Duncan. I’m sorry to disturb you at home but I thought you would like to know as soon as possible. Rose’s transponder beacon has been activated.”

 

He suddenly had a hollow, sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. There was only one reason a beacon would be activated. A field agent was in trouble and needed backup.

 

“Where is she?”

 

“Still at Porton Down, which is why I’m calling you Pete.”

 

“Yeah, of course. You did the right thing Duncan. Any sign of John’s beacon?”

 

“No.” Duncan didn’t elaborate. They were both thinking the same thing. The reasons John hadn’t activated his beacon were too worrying to contemplate.

 

“Andy’s on his way in and we’ve called in White and Red watches to augment Green Watch.”

 

“Okay Duncan. I’m going to hang up now and call the President. Tell Andy he has a ‘go’ from me, we’ll sort out the irate military egos later.”

 

He hung up the call and realised his hand was trembling as he tried to dial the Presidents number. He touched the intercom in his ear and spoke to his house manager, Alistair.

 

“Alistair. Sorry to disturb you after work. But would you tell my wife that I have to go to work. You’ll find her in the bath.”

 

“Finding Mrs. Tyler in the bath would be highly inappropriate sir, not to mention unprofessional. I may just knock on the door and speak loudly from outside.”

 

“Smart arse.”

 

“Correct sir…. Ah, may I make an alternative suggestion sir. Miss DiMaggio is visiting with me. She says that if you want someone to watch young Master Smith until Mrs. Tyler is out of the bath, she would be only too happy to have him.”

 

“That’s very kind of her.”

 

“No problem. She’ll be with you shortly, she’s…. Just putting some clothes on.”

 

“Alistair! You old scoundrel,” Pete laughed.

 

“Hardly sir. A scoundrel is very ‘council housing estate’. I consider myself to be more of a rogue, a bit more class.”

 

“Hah! You’ve certainly got class alright. Oh, my calls connecting, gotta go.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“Right. Listen up people. I’m sorry you’ve been called in off shift, but I thought you’d all want a piece of this one,” Andy addressed the full Operations Room, as Jack Harkness walked through the door.

 

“Jack?” Andy asked. Blue watch hadn’t been called in as they had been on shift all day.

 

“Deputy Director privileges,” he said. “I get to monitor the situation status feeds. And if Doc and Rosie are in trouble, I’ll go in with or without you.”

 

“Yeah, I understand the sentiment,” Andy said quietly. “Donuts, do you want to bring everyone up to speed?”

 

Duncan stood and moved to the media screen with the remote in his hand. “At 21:00 this evening, the Smiths affected a covert entry to The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, acting on intelligence gathered earlier in the day. They suspect that the base commander, General Malcolm Chatfield was not cooperating with our investigation.”

 

He clicked the remote to show a satellite feed of DSTL. “At 21:33, Rose’s emergency transponder beacon was activated in what appears to be the Guard House. As we know, DSTL is one of the most sensitive and secretive government facilities for military research, which makes a rescue very delicate.”

 

Andy took over the rescue mission briefing. “Right. This will be a two phase rescue. I will take a fast response team in the stealth airship to liberate the Doc and Wife. Donuts will lead the high speed ground response to secure our escape route and extraction.”

 

Duncan held up his tablet PC. “Detailed maps and floor plans have been uploaded to your tablets, I suggest you study them during transit.”

 

“Right people, let’s suit up and move out. Alpha team, I’ll see you on the roof in five.”

 

“Andy, I’m coming with you,” Jack told him.

 

“Good. I’ll bring you up to speed on the way,”

 

“And me.” Jake said as they bumped into him in the doorway.

 

“Jake, what are you doing here?” Jack asked as they moved towards the locker room.

 

“Bit of a long story. Cutting it short, I was worried about them, so phoned to see if the mission went okay. Donna-the-house told me they still weren’t back. Phoned Mrs. T, who is in bits with worry by the way, and here I am ready to fly.”

 

Five minutes later, the sleek, black, near silent airship was flying fast and at low level towards Wiltshire. On board, Andy was taking the team through final preparations.

 

“Brains, what’s the latest from the satellite feed?” he asked Chrissie who was on Technical Support.

 

“Rose’s beacon is one of five heat sources that move from the Guard House to Chatfield’s office.”

 

“Probably for interrogation,” Andy said. “Hopefully just a question and answer session.”

 

“Plan one then. We abseil down and deploy the spy-fly. There will probably be two guards stationed outside the door. Handsome, I want you to take Alpha four and five into the corridor to take care of them. Peg, I want you on the roof with Alpha six and seven.” I’ll lead Alpha two and three to a window behind the interrogator and deploy the entry netting. On my signal we perform a coordinated stun of all targets.”

 

“Andy, another heat source is entering the office,” Chrissie announced.

 

“I wonder if that’s the General or an interrogator?” Andy mused. “Okay, plan two. If Doc and The Wife have been moved back to the Guard House by the time we arrive, it may be easier to use entry netting on the outside wall of the cell.”

 

“You’ll probably need a couple of passes to get through a cell wall,” Chrissie informed him.

 

“ETA three minutes,” the pilot announced over their headsets.

 

“Okay, final gear check team. Make sure your ropes and descenders are secure. We drop in three minutes.”

 

“Andy, four heat signatures are leaving the office and heading for the Guard House.”

 

“Thanks Brains. Plan two it is then. Peg, your team on the roof. Handsome, I want your team covering the corners.”

 

“All teams stand by. I’m bringing the ship around to use the prevailing wind to drift us over the drop zone. Switching to silent mode,” the pilot said.

 

“Oh thank God. John’s transponder has just activated,” Chrissie said with relief.

 

The side doors of the fuselage slid open and the teams stood out onto the foot rails. Nine black ropes snaked down to the ground, and six black shadows silently descended to the ground. As the airship drifted over the building, three more shadows descended to the roof and took up defensive positions.

 

“Three heat sources in the first cell. Over.” Chrissie was overseeing the mission from the technical console in the airship.

 

“Copy that. Over.”

 

One of the black clad figures approached the wall and attached a thin netting, the size of a door. The rest of the team took up flanking positions along the wall.

 

“Alpha team hold your positions,” Chrissie said in their headsets. “One heat source leaving the building and heading towards the labs. Over…. Okay. All clear to continue. Over.”

 

“Andy touched the control on his wrist computer and the section of wall under the netting crumbled to dust, revealing the steel reinforcing cables and the inner wall of the cell. The netting was picked up and placed in the door shaped recess.

 

“Alpha One, two heat sources moving towards you from the east. Over.” ‘Oh give me a break’’, Andy thought. ‘There’s more pedestrians than a shopping centre.’

 

“Alpha Four to Alpha One, I have visual. Two guards heading this way, carrying SA80 assault rifles. Over,” Jake announced.

 

“Can you neutralise? Over.”

 

“Affirmative.” They heard two zaps and flashes from the roof.

 

“Targets are asleep. Over.”

 

“Copy that. Over.”

 

Jack came and stood next to Andy as he prepared to activate the netting. As the wall and cables crumbled to dust, the one image that stuck in Jack’s mind was that of John, kneeling by the cell door, distractedly contemplating his wife’s bosom.

 

Chatfield saw the dust drifting past his knees and felt the cool air on the back of his neck. He turned to see where it was coming from and was met by the sight of a door sized hole in the wall that wasn’t there moments ago, he was sure he would have noticed it. However, having spent time with John and Rose, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

 

It was fair to say he was having a bad day. “Now What?! Who the hell are you people?”

 

Standing in the ‘doorway’, were black uniformed figures, with black combat helmets and full face, gold mirrored respirator masks, looking very much like a squad of anti-terrorist special forces soldiers.

 

“Alpha One to Night Hawk. The kids are safe. Repeat, the kids are safe. Over,” Andy said.

 

“McNab and Harkness builders. Did someone want a quote for a door?” one of the soldiers asked.

 

“I know that voice,” Rose said with a smile. “Even through a respirator intercom.”

  
“Hiya gorgeous,” Jack said. Even with the mirrored visor, she could see his perfect smile in her mind. She stood and ran into a big hug.

 


	10. Counter strike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alistair goes for a job interview after his medical discharge.  
> The task force goes hunting aliens.

 

** Chapter 10 **

 

****

 

 

** 12 years previously **

 

Alistair got off the bus and walked along the tree lined road towards the Tyler’s Mansion. The area was very select, with leafy hedges that hid the houses behind, or tall brick walls topped with wrought iron railings to discourage any unwanted intrusions.

 

He arrived at the ornately sculptured gates and checked the name on the brass plate on the brick gate post. It read ‘Tyler House’, so this was it. Looking through the gate, he could see a long driveway that curved away for a couple of hundred yards to a large, white house just behind the trees.

 

Below the nameplate was an intercom, which he pressed and heard the intermittent tone that was similar to a telephone waiting to be connected.

 

“Hello. Tyler residence, how may I help you?” a young lady’s voice said.

 

He suddenly felt very self conscious and unsure of himself. He was being very presumptuous to think that a multi millionaire would be interested in employing a street kid from the Sutton estate. And yet, Pete Tyler seemed a really nice man when he had rescued his wallet from that pickpocket last year, before….

 

Alistair had been found by a search and rescue crew from the convoy who were looking for survivors. He had just been sat there in the rocks, staring across the valley, his tear filled eyes unfocused. His one fist was balled, holding a silver bracelet.

 

When the rescue crew saw the T.L.K, they knew he had been the one that had risked his life to establish a communication link that had called in the air strike. He was a hero. He didn’t feel like a hero, he didn’t feel anything except a raw, aching loss that burned at his very core.

 

He didn’t know how long he had been in the hospital, time had no meaning for him anymore. It had stopped when Sam’s voice had stopped on the radio. He would re-live the hell in his nightmares, where Sam would hold his shoulders and call his name, only to find when he awoke that it was a nurse on the ward.

 

The psychiatrist told him he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which used to be known as ‘shell shock’. Having a name for it didn’t make it any better, or make it go away. However, things started to improve when another soldier was brought in and had the bed next to him.

 

He’d had a similar experience to Alistair, and it was someone he could talk to, or even more importantly not talk to, who understood what he had gone through and what he was still going through, over and over in his nightmares.

 

“Hello?” the young ladies voice sing-songed in the intercom, bringing him out of his memories.

 

“Oh, sorry. Alistair McKenzie, I’m here for an interview?” There was a slight pause as he presumed she was reading a list.

 

“Ah yes, the 12:30. Follow the drive around to the house, I’ll meet you at the front steps.”

 

“Thank you.” The gates opened and Alistair walked through, noticing the security cameras that were monitoring him as he went. As he walked along the drive, he thought about his time at the Carruther’s house on the base and how he’d learned all about being a butler.

 

Except it wasn’t called being a ‘butler’, in the army it was a ‘batman’, and in civilian life it was now called being a ‘house manager’. Like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he didn’t care what it was called, it was something he had acquired and was something that he did well.

 

“So, Mr. McKenzie. Can we call you Alistair?” Pete asked as he looked through his CV.

 

“Yes sir, of course.” He sat nervously in the Drawing Room of the mansion, with Pete and Jackie looking over his credentials.

 

“Oh look, it says here you’re from the Sutton estate. Pete and me were on the Powell estate when we first got married,” Jackie told him with a smile.

 

This made Alistair even more nervous. The two estates were close to each other. What if they recognised him from his dodgy past? He’d left those days behind him now, but they always seemed to try and catch up with him to remake his acquaintance.

 

“Have we met before?” Pete asked, pointing his finger between them.

 

“I think it may have been last year sir, on Oxford Street. I believe you dropped your wallet sir.”

 

“I knew it! I remember now. You were in uniform, that’s why I didn’t recognise you straight away. It was you and an attractive redhead, she’s difficult to forget. You picked up my wallet and wouldn’t take a reward. There’s not many that would do that these days.”

 

Pete was smiling now. He had been impressed that day with a young soldier who had honesty and integrity. Alistair was struggling to keep himself together at the mention of Samantha, even after all the counselling.

 

“Mrs. Carruthers has given you a glowing reference,” Pete said. “Is there a reason you left the Signal Corps?”

 

Pete had spotted the change in Alistairs expression.

 

“Er, yes sir, there is.”

 

“I’m sorry Alistair, if it’s personal and private then it’s none of my business,” Pete said sympathetically.

 

“No sir, I understand that as an employer, you want to know all about a potential employee.” He cleared his throat.

 

“We were posted overseas, not long after I met you on Oxford Street…. There was an ‘incident’ with terrorist insurgents and….” He cleared his throat again. “A couple of people I was close to were killed.”

 

“Oh you poor boy,” Jackie said. “That must have been awful for you.” She reached across the table to hold his hand. Alistair looked at her, not sure if this was appropriate for a potential employer.

 

What the hell, he couldn’t help himself. He gripped her hand like a drowning man grips onto a rope while he tried to regain his composure. Jackie cast a glance at Pete, who had a sympathetic look on his face.

 

Alistair released her hand, took a deep breath and blew it out. He smiled and nodded at Jackie in thanks.

 

“Sorry about that. It’s all still a bit raw,” he explained.

 

“No, no. Please, it’s me who should be apologising,” Pete said.

 

“In answer to your question ma’am, yes it was awful. I just felt that I couldn’t continue in the forces any more. You could say it sort of knocked the fight out of me. I was given a medical discharge. Post traumatic stress the doctor called it.”

 

Pete and Jackie looked at each other and nodded.

 

“Well Alistair, with these references, your experience in the army and with your background being similar to our own, we’d like to offer you the position of house manager.”

 

Alistair inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He’d done it, he’d managed to leave his past behind him. If these people were as genuine as they seemed, he would be a loyal and faithful employee.

 

“Thank you sir, ma’am, I am very grateful for this opportunity.”

 

“We’ve never had a house manager before, so you’ll have to bear with us. It’s going to be a learning experience for us,” Pete said smiling.

 

“Oh I’m sure you’ll do fine sir. After all you’ll have a very good teacher,” he said with a deadpan expression.

 

Pete was dumbstruck, but Alistair saw the flicker of a smile in Jackie’s eyes. He gave them a smile with a twinkle in his eyes that showed them he was joking.

 

“Hah!” Jackie laughed. “Oh I like ‘im Pete. He’s as big a rogue as you are.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

  


Professor Jenkins left the Guard House and walked across the base to the laboratory building. At the door to the Biological Research Laboratory, he keyed in the entry code and looked into the retinal scanner. The door clicked open and he walked into the empty lab.

 

In his hand he had something that looked like a key fob, and when he pressed it, he ceased being Professor David Jenkins and became Kerra-Kashinkai, Ke Caxtari mission commander for the intergalactic Ke Caxtari Corporation.

 

He went through to the store room and stood in the cabinet elevator which took him down to the complex below. He was still annoyed that these meddling apes had nearly derailed the whole operation and put two years of preparation in jeopardy.

 

How had that Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer, Linda Thomas stolen those samples? For what purpose? And where were they now? He was considering these questions as he made his way through the maze of corridors towards the operations centre.

 

It didn’t really matter now, all that had happened was that the timetable had been brought forward. He had captured the two agents from that interfering Torchwood Institute, or at least that stupid soldier Chatfield had. They had been stripped of their equipment, which meant they wouldn’t be able to call for help.

 

And the lorry load of pathogen had made it off the base and was on the way to be distributed around the globe. In just over a month, the whole planet would be ready for harvesting.

 

In the control centre, a number of Caxtarids were sitting at their stations, monitoring various systems.

 

“Let me know when everyone is inside and we have green lights on all the entrances,” Kerra-Kashinkai said. Of course, there was more than one entrance to the complex. The storeroom was the most convenient to him, as he worked in the lab as Professor Jenkins.

 

He went through to his office at the far side of the control room, which had a large window so that he could keep an eye on things while he worked at his desk. He sat down and activated the intercom.

 

“Attention everyone. The final phase of the operation has been brought forwards and tonight we will seal the doors and wait. When this is over, we will all be rich. Very rich. You will all be able to retire to a life of luxury with your own estates and your own slaves. I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work.”

 

The Caxtarids in the control room stood and applauded him, cheering and chanting his name. He smiled at them and waved his appreciation before turning his attention to the long range communicator on his desk. He activated the holographic link and a head appeared above his desk.

 

“Commander. How is your mission?”

 

“It goes well Captain.We have brought the schedule forward and should be ready in 30 Earth days. Are you able to make it for then?”

 

“That is not a problem Commander, I shall increase the speed of the fleet to accommodate the new deadline.”

 

“Thank you Captain, I shall speak to you nearer the time.” The head faded away.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“John, what’s the status on the General?” McNab asked, with a number of stun rifles pointed at Chatfield.

 

“He’s one of the good guys. We need to act fast, things are about to go to hell in a handbasket.” He moved through the hole and started to run towards the office complex, Andy and Jack jogging either side of him. “There was an articulated lorry that left the base earlier. It’s carrying crate loads of the pathogen. We have to intercept it.”

 

“Right. Brains, did you get that? Over.”

 

“Copy that. HQ will pull the license plate from the DSTL CCTV. Over.”

 

“Good,” John said as they ran through the door into the corridor. He opened the cover of the fire control panel, which were rows and rows of switches and green lights.

 

“General, does the base have a Tannoy system?”

 

“Yes. It's in my office.”

 

“Call ‘general quarters’ or whatever it is you call. Get everyone out of the buildings.” Chatfield nodded and went through the door into his office. “Rose, could you go with him and bring out the boxes with our equipment in them?”

 

“Yeah sure.” She went into the office and came out with the plastic containers. He reached in and pulled out his sonic, giving it a kiss as he did. He adjusted the setting and scanned the panel.

 

“Damn, I was afraid of that. The remote trigger has bypassed the panel; I can’t shut it down from here.” He put the sonic in his pocket and started loading his pockets with his gear. “We have to get out of the building before the Caxtarids activate the sprinklers.”

 

“Mum? It’s okay. We’re safe…. Oh don’t cry Mum. Is EJ being a good boy for you?”

 

John looked up and saw that Rose had picked up her phone and called Jackie. She talked as they walked along the corridor to the exit. Alpha Team were following, removing their helmets and masks as they went outside.

 

“What?! Dear God no! That’s awful. Look Mum, I’ve got to go; we’ve got to stop this. We’ll see you later, bye.”

 

Everyone was looking at her, wondering what was so awful.

 

She had tears in her eyes. “It was on the news. Zombies are coming out of houses. People who thought they’d got the flu and went to bed.” Her voice caught in her throat. “John…. They ate their children. What was left of them became zombies as well.”

 

John went over and hugged her. “Come on Love, let’s stop this now.”

 

She nodded, wiping her eyes.

 

“Beta Team Leader to Alpha Team Leader. Over,” Duncan called through Andy’s intercom.

 

“Go ahead. Over.”

 

“We are approaching the base. What is your status. Over.” Andy looked around and saw the parade ground filling with people coming out of the buildings.

 

“Doc and his Wife have been released. The base is about to be hit by the zombie bug.” Just as he started saying it, the fire alarms started wailing and ringing. “Correction, has been hit. We’ll debrief when you arrive. Over.

 

Andy went over to Chatfield and saluted him. “Captain Andrew McNab, Torchwood Special Operations Commander Sir.”

 

Chatfield returned the salute. “General Malcolm Chatfield, DSTL base commander. It’s one hell of an outfit you’ve got here Captain.”

 

“Thank you Sir. We have a ground vehicle response team arriving shortly, could you have you guards let them in please.

 

“Of course.” He attracted the attention of one of the officers who had been coordinating the evacuation of the buildings. “Run down to the Gate House and let in the Torchwood team if you would.” The officer saluted and ran in the direction of the entrance.

 

Soon after, three Torchwood vans pulled up in front of Alpha Team, and were brought up to speed by McNab. They then looked to John for further guidance.

 

“An unknown number of Caxtarids have secured a base of operations under DSTL and have sealed themselves in while the human race turns into zombies. There will be a fleet of cargo ships on the way to take seven billion people off the planet.”

 

“So what are we up against?” Andy asked, getting straight to the point. “

 

“You need to know your enemy,” John said. “They are slave traders, they deal in bodies. They are tough and ruthless, only keeping people alive because they are worth money to them. They have been moving around the base using ‘shimmers’ to change their appearance.”

 

“And how do we stop them?”

 

“We need a coordinated response,” John told them. “First, we need to find that lorry and intercept it. My guess is its on the M3 heading to Heathrow.”

 

Rose spotted it immediately. “Heathrow, of course!” She remembered their long haul flight to the Far East on their honeymoon. “In flight drinks. Vitex is on every flight, to every corner of the globe.”

 

“Damn,” Andy said. “Donuts, get your team on the road and head towards Heathrow.” Duncan nodded and one of the vans filled with agents. “Alpha Team Leader to Night Hawk. Over.”

 

“Go ahead. Over.”

 

“Brains, the lorry is probably on the M3 heading towards Heathrow. Find it and liaise with Donuts to intercept. This is a priority. Over.”

 

“Understood. Over.”

 

“Next, I need to get to the TARDIS. We can use it to get inside the bunker and shut down their operation. I can contact their fleet and tell them not to bother because the games up. And finally, the antibiotic should be ready to use on the victims.”

 

“Where’s the TARDIS at the moment?” Jack asked.

 

“Er, it’s in the Biological Research Lab. I’m going to need a Haz-Mat suit.”

 

“I’ll get the one out of the van,” Jake said and ran to one of the remaining vans.

 

The Hazardous Materials suit was an all-in-one orange suit with a sealable helmet. ‘Oh God’ Rose thought, ‘it’s Krop Tor all over again’.

 

She stood in front of him and gave a weak smile. “Deja vu,” she said.

 

“For a Time Lord, deja vu is an everyday experience,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry. The Caxtarids are hunkered down in their bunker…. Ooh I like that, hunker in the bunker. There could be a bunker hunker….”

 

“John,” Rose said patiently.

 

“What? Oh, right. Anyway, the lab will be abandoned. I just go in, get the TARDIS and bring it here. Simple.”

 

Rose rolled her eyes, nothing was ever simple when he said simple.

 

“But Dr. Smith, how will you get into the lab? It’s bomb proof and has biometric locks,” Chatfield said.

 

“Ah, but it’s not Doctor proof is it?” John said with a grin. “Right. Wait here and I’ll be back in a tick.”

 

“I want that Haz-Mat suit back in one piece, you got that?” Rose grabbed the helmet and in a replay of Krop Tor, kissed the face plate.

 

John grinned at the memory. “Yes sir. I’ll see you shortly.”

 

“Not if I see you first.”

 

He turned and set off towards the laboratory buildings, and went inside. A few minutes later, Rose breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the beautiful sound of their TARDIS’s engines. There were stunned faces on the parade ground and General Chatfield shook his head in disbelief as a blue police box appeared in front of them.

 

The door opened and John stepped out. “There you are, told you it was simple. The TARDIS has decontaminated the suit and the exterior shell.”

 

Chatfield leaned towards Rose and put a hand on her shoulder. “Does this sort of thing happen to you very often?”

 

Rose laughed. “This sort of thing,” she said, pointing to the TARDIS. “Usually only on our days off. The rest of it…. pretty much every day.”

 

John was helped out of the Haz-Mat suit and it was stowed back in the van.

 

“So Andy, are the team ready to go? I can put us in the heart of their complex, then it’s up to you.”

 

“Thanks John. Do we have any idea of the size and layout of their base?”

 

“Don’t worry, the TARDIS will give you the details when we get in there. How long does it take to plan an assault? Remember, these guys have weapons that can turn you to dust in the blink of an eye”

 

“We have a number of practiced scenarios that we can apply at short notice. It’s just a case of assigning team members to each zone.”

 

“Okay then, all aboard that’s going aboard. Next stop, the Caxtarid warren,” John said, and then did an Elmer Fudd voice. “I’m gonna hunt me a wabbit.”

 

The 20 strong force of Torchwood agents started to file into the TARDIS, many of them never having been in there before. There were many expressions of surprise, disbelief and the odd expletive (followed by an apology to Rose).

 

“Excuse me,” Chatfield called out. “Where do all these soldiers think they are going? They won’t all fit in that wooden box.”

 

Jack came up and slapped him on the shoulder. “How would you like to come along as an observer? I think you’re in for one hell of a ride.” Jack ushered him through the door and had to steady him as he had that feeling of motion sickness and disorientation.

 

“Ye Gods, it’s…. it’s….”

 

“Bigger on the inside?” John, Rose, Jack, Jake and Andy said together.

 

John set the controls and the time rotor started pumping up and down. 30 seconds later it stopped and John activated the view screen. The assault team gathered around to look at an empty ‘star ship’ corridor.

 

The TARDIS performed a high power detailed scan of the complex, showing the layout and locations of the Caxtarids which Andy studied.

 

“Listen up team, this is how it’s going to happen. Six teams of three in a standard covert room entry and search. My team will take point and secure the corridor while the other teams search. Doc, anything to add?”

 

“Set your stunners to maximum and use multiple shots on each target to make sure they go down.”

 

“Thanks Doc. Mission objectives are to neutralize the enemy, secure the complex and get the Doc to the control centre. Tool up people, lets hit them fast and hard while we have the element of surprise.”

 

Each team member donned their headset and high tech helmet with head up display visor.

 

“Rose?” John said questioningly as she tooled up.

 

She looked at him and smiled. “Wha’? Yer didn’t think I was stayin’ behind did ya? I’m your bodyguard. Stickin’ t’yer like glue I am.”

 

They did a final weapons check, and McNab headed down the ramp with two other agents. They stepped into the corridor and silently walked to the end where they secured their positions.

 

“Alpha Team Leader to all teams, we are go.” Five groups of three moved down the ramp and out the doors.

 

“General, if you would wait here,” John said. “Please don’t touch anything. You can watch the operation on the monitor.” He followed the rest of the teams out of the doors and Rose closed them behind her.

  



	11. Down to the wire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alistair survives the 2007 Cybermen attacks and sees Jackie and Rose arrive.
> 
> Rose gets annoyed with a prisoner and he sees a flash of the wolf within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Get a good grip because there’s a cliffhanger as the Doctor tries to stop the Caxtarid commander. He has an inner dialogue with inner Donna.)  
> 

 

** Chapter 11 **

 

 

 

** 8 years, 11 months previously **

 

Over the last three years, Alistair had seen a change in his employer’s relationship. The love they once had for each other seemed to have faded and they just went through the motions of keeping up appearances.

 

Mr. Tyler buried himself in his work to try and hide from the fact that his wife no longer loved him. Alistair knew that secretly, he would have loved to have started a family, but Mrs. Tyler had become too accustomed to the jet set lifestyle, and children would seriously cramp her style.

 

She had bought a small dog instead, using that as a token ‘child’ like many rich and famous women did. And although they thought it was a secret, Alistair knew that they had divorced months earlier. He was the house manager and he knew everything that went on under this roof. The fact that they slept in separate beds was a dead give away for a start.

 

Tonight was Mrs. Tyler’s 40th birthday, and she was even too vain to admit that, telling everyone it was her 39th. That was something else Mr. Tyler got into trouble for, putting up banners that would tell all the guests that she was 40.

 

“Alistair, why don’t you have the night off? We’ve got the caterers coming in to take care of everything. Go and enjoy yourself,” Pete said.

 

“That’s very good of you sir. Some of my old army friends are on leave and I would like to catch up with them. They’re going to a karaoke night at a pub in Camden.”

 

“There you are then, a perfect opportunity. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Thank you sir. See you tomorrow.”

 

Of course, he didn’t see him tomorrow.

 

It was nearly a week later before his employer returned home, looking worn out, with a haunted look in his eyes. Alistair knew that look, he’d seen it enough times when he’d looked in the mirror. Guilt, anger, remorse, self loathing, all completely irrational. As if a person had any say in how random events unfolded!

 

He had taken it upon himself to organise the clean up of Tyler Mansion and had called in tradesmen to repair the damage caused by the Cybermen attack. When Mr. Tyler arrived home, the house was pretty much back to normal.

 

Mr. Tyler had called a meeting of the staff and explained what had happened that night and where he had been for the last week. He was now working for that secretive Torchwood outfit and they would all be interviewed for security clearance and have background checks.

 

‘Oh dear’, Alistair thought. No, actually ‘shit!’ is what he was thinking. Here comes his past again to kick him up the arse.

 

“Mr. Tyler, can I have a quiet word,” Alistair asked after the meeting.

 

“Of course Alistair. Come through to the office.” Pete sat at his desk and indicated one of the comfortable armchairs for Alistair.

 

“Firstly Alistair, I’d like to say thank you for sorting out all the repairs and clean up. I really was dreading coming back to all the mess. What is it you wanted to talk about?”

 

“Er, well sir…. I think I’ll have to leave your employ sir,” Alistair said hesitantly.

 

Pete was stunned. Alistair was his rock, particularly now that he had lost Jackie. “Alistair, why? I thought you liked working here. Is something wrong? Is it something I’ve done or said? Please tell me.”

 

“I love it here sir, and it’s not you sir, it’s me. It’s complicated.”

 

“So why the sudden change of heart? Talk to me. If you’re in trouble, I can sort it, I have contacts.”

 

Alistair sat silently in turmoil. He liked Pete Tyler, he was a good man, but how would he react if he told him the truth about his past and how he had lied to him? He saw the pleading look on Pete’s face and the look of concern in his eyes.

 

In that look that passed between them, he decided to tell him everything. The thieving, the street magic, the gang, the murder, the escape, the army training, his mentor Lieutenant Colonel Carruthers, his first love Samantha…. her death.

 

He showed Pete the silver bracelet he was wearing with her name on it. It had two dates engraved on the back, her birthday and…. ‘That’ day. He explained that he had bought it for her after he had recovered Pete’s wallet from the pickpocket in Oxford Street.

 

“A pickpocket?” Pete asked in surprise, wiping his eyes. Alistair nodded.

 

“Well thank you for being honest with me Alistair. I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about. As far as I’m concerned, what happened in the past, stays in the past, but can you tell me one more thing?” He asked quietly, his voice breaking.

 

“If I can sir.”

 

Tears started to run down Pete’s cheeks. “When does it stop hurting? When does the pain go away?”

 

Alistair’s eyes brimmed with tears. “When that day arrives…. I’ll let you know.”

 

Pete stood and walked around the desk as Alistair stood up. He started to sob as he pulled him into a hug. Forget employer and employee, these were two men who were joined in grief, and in the privacy of the office, they cried their hearts out for their lost loves.

 

True to his word, Mr. Tyler had sorted out Alistair’s security clearance and background cover story, and a couple of weeks later they had two new guests staying at the mansion. Mickey Smith, and his Grandmother, Rita Anne.

 

Mickey was a bit rough around the edges, but seemed a decent sort. He reminded Alistair of himself before he’d joined the army, and suspected that Torchwood would do the same for Mickey that the army had done for him. Rita Anne just emanated goodness from every pore of her body, and he understood why Mickey was such a nice person.

 

Alistair smiled to himself; he knew that having these people around the house would help Mr. Tyler with the healing process.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

When Rose closed the TARDIS doors, the nearest three doors had already been dissolved and the teams were in the rooms checking and clearing and reporting in over the headsets. In just over a minute they were at the ‘T’ junction of the corridor with McNab.

 

“The control hub is to the right. I want you three to hold this junction as our escape route,” McNab said to one of the teams. They took up their positions as the assault force moved deeper into the complex.

 

Andy’s team moved quickly to the next junction as the teams ‘peeled off’ to each door.

 

ZZAPP, ZZAPP!

 

Andy shot a Caxtarid that turned the corner. He didn’t even have time to register surprise before he hit the floor, unconscious. One of the team secured the wrists and ankles with cable ties and dragged the stunned alien into one of the now open rooms.

 

There were sounds of stun guns being used in some of the other rooms as the team moved smoothly along the corridor. Chatfield watched the helmet camera feeds on the TARDIS monitor and had to admit that, although they weren’t military, this team were very professional and extremely effective.

  
In fact, he would go as far as to say that if you were watching this and didn’t know who they were, you would think they were a special forces unit. Praise indeed from a soldier who only yesterday had thought that they were a bunch of mercenaries, working for a man who he had accused of sleeping with the President.

 

They had managed to get to the double doors of the control centre without raising any alarms. This was mainly due to Kerra-Kashinkai underestimating his captives. They couldn’t escape, they couldn’t call for help and no one could get into the complex.

 

Hah! He didn’t know the ‘stuff of legends’.

 

Two entry nets were placed on each side of the double doors in preparation for entry. On each side of the door were three agents, two lying on the floor who would fire across the doorway to the nearest targets. The next two agents were kneeling, and would take out the next target in, and the final two were standing, ready to take out the furthest targets.

 

“Standby…. On my mark,” Andy said. “Three, two, one, mark.”

 

The doors dissolved and simultaneous blasts of energy from the stunners passed through the dust before it had chance to settle.

 

“The far wall,” John called out, where he could see Kerra-Kashinkai through his office window.

 

“FREEZE!” Andy shouted into the room.

 

Kerra-Kashinkai pressed a switch on his desk which activated the intercom.

 

“I don’t think I will actually,” he said casually.

 

The team fired their stunners at the window, which just flared with the energy. Rose took out her Glock 17C, semi automatic pistol and aimed at the window.

 

BLAM! Wheee. BLAM! Ziiinnng.

 

“Bullet proof glass,” Jack said.

 

“Cover me,” Jake said as he moved forward with an entry net.

 

Inside the office, they could see Kerra-Kashinkai calmly lying down on a couch along the side wall of the office. A semi cylindrical transparent cover rolled over the couch, forming a complete cylinder around the couch.

 

Jake made it to the office door and secured the entry netting. Inside the office, a circular hole appeared in the far wall, the exact size of the couch cylinder. As Jake activated the netting and dissolved the door, the couch disappeared through the hole with a ‘ffoppp’.

 

Jake took his SA80 assault rifle from around his shoulder and emptied the magazine down the tunnel as the rest of the team entered the office. John looked into the tunnel and scanned it with his sonic.

 

“It goes straight on for four miles,” he told them. “He’ll be long gone by the time we get to the other end.”

 

“I’ll get Despatch to put a satellite surveillance on the far end,” Jack said. “You never know, we might get lucky.”

 

John went to the desk and scanned the communication controls. “Right, let’s have a look at all this and see if we can....”

 

After touching a few controls, a holographic head appeared over the desk.

 

“Oh, here we are look. Hello, I’m the Doctor.” Rose came and stood by the side of him while other members stood behind.

 

“Where is commander Kerra-Kashinkai?”

 

“Who? Oh, the guy with the Napoleon complex. We had to give him the sack. He wasn’t very good at his job. No people skills really. And he kept thinking he was somebody else.”

 

“What is the meaning of this?” the holographic head said.

 

“The meaning of this is, this base is now under the control of Torchwood. The gig’s up and you are going down. Now, you can either turn yourselves in to the nearest Shadow Proclamation representative, or you can wait for the Judoon to come and find you. They might be a bit thick, but they are persistent, and they will get you.”

 

“I see,” the head said. “Then we shall have to close down this operation and find another world.”

 

John was suddenly furious. “WEREN’T YOU LISTENING?” His voice reverberating in people’s heads.

 

“I know you, Ke Caxtari. Thinking you’re all bad ass, prowling the galaxy and giving everybody attitude. But I know you are bullies, that you pick on worlds with low tech that can’t defend themselves.”

 

Rose touched his arm in concern. She’d seen that look before, and bad things happen when he has that look. John glanced at her and the ‘look’ vanished. Once again, his pink and yellow girl had brought him back from the brink.

 

He took a deep breath and turned back to the ‘head’. “But this world is different. This world has got me, and this world has got Rose.” He smiled at her and winked. Credit where credit was due, they were a team.

 

“So either you stop this, right now and turn yourselves in, or I’ll come looking for you. And believe me, you do not want me looking for you.”

 

“Who do you think you are, trying to give the Ke Caxtari orders?” the ‘head’ said indignantly.

 

“That’s a very good question,” John said. “Because you don’t know me in this universe…. Yet. But I had many names where I came from, ‘The Doctor’, ‘The Destroyer of Worlds’, ‘The Oncoming Storm’ is most appropriate here I think.”

 

“How about the ‘Boasting Annoying Meddler’?” the ‘head’ said. “Perhaps we should rid this universe of your interfering.”

 

“What?” John looked at Rose, slightly hurt. “I don’t boast do I?”

 

Rose pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Maybe just a teeny bit,” she said with a grin, noticing that he hadn’t disagreed with being an annoying meddler.

 

The hologram faded as an alarm started to sound. They looked through the window into the control room and saw red lights flashing everywhere. John ran out of the office and looked at a panel that appeared to be the power distribution board.

 

“Oh no, this is bad. This is very bad,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

 

“Power plant overload initiated. Auto destruct in 100 lutens,” an automated voice announced.

 

“What?!” John exclaimed.

 

“Doc, what’s going on?” Andy asked as he came to stand beside him.

 

“Auto destruct in 100 lutens,” the voice said.

 

“They’ve sent a self destruct signal to destroy the base and any evidence of their crime,” John said, scanning the panel.

 

“How bad is it John,” Rose asked him.

 

“It’s a compressed plasma fusion reactor, when it blows it’ll be equivalent to nearly a giga tonne of TNT. The crater will be nearly three miles across and a mile deep. The blast radius will take out most of southern Britain, not to mention the fallout that will cover Britain and northern Europe.”

 

“Auto destruct in 95 lutens.”

 

“C’mon Doc, we’ve got to stop this,” Jack said, pulling down a panel to expose the complex control circuitry. “How long have we got?”

 

“Calculating the length between lutens, about three minutes,” he announced. “Andy, start evacuating the complex. Get all the prisoners into the TARDIS.”

 

“OKAY TEAMS,” Andy shouted. “You heard the man. Let’s move.”

 

“Auto destruct in 90 lutens.”

 

“John, what can I do to help?” Rose asked.

 

“Hang on Love…. Just got to disconnect this…. There, got it.”

 

“Auto destruct in 85 lutens.”

 

“Hang on, didn’t that just jump some?” Rose noticed.

 

“Damn. Anti tampering mechanism. Rose, you can fly the TARDIS now. If this goes pear shaped, I want you….”

 

“Oh no you don’t! I am not doin’ that! Never!”

 

“Rose. The TARDIS can survive the blast, but…. our son, your family….” He left the sentence unfinished. “It won’t come to that, but we have to be prepared, yeah?”

 

“Auto destruct in 80 lutens.”

 

Rose grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him into a long kiss. Jack looked on, grinning at them.

 

“Just for luck,” she told him.

 

“Do I get one?” Jack asked.

 

“John’s a bit busy now, but I’m sure he’ll oblige when he’s finished.” She gave them an attempt at a smile to cover her feeling of dread.

 

“Try that!” Jack said as he flicked a switch.

 

“Auto destruct sequence can only be cancelled by the base commander, Kerra-Kashinkai,” the automated voice told them.

 

“And he’s not here,” John told the voice. “Spiffing!” his ‘Inner Donna’ exclaimed. “What is it with biometric controls in this universe? What was wrong with a good old fashioned numeric keypad or passwords?”

 

“Probably that a genius like you could get past them,” Rose said.

 

“Oh yeah. There is that I suppose.”

 

“Auto destruct in 75 lutens.”

 

“Okay, let’s give this a try.” He adjusted the sonic and scanned his face from forehead to chin. He moved to the face recognition panel, ran the sonic over it from top to bottom and pressed the ‘accept’ button.

 

“Auto destruct sequence can only be cancelled by the base commander, Kerra-Kashinkai. Auto destruct in 70 lutens.”

 

“It jumped again Doc,” Jack told him.

 

“I know!” ‘Inner Donna’ sang. “I CAN count!”

 

“John. Rude!” Rose told him and then stopped with a distracted look of concentration on her face.

 

“Oh my God. John, Jack, keep working. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 

“Where are you going?” John asked.

 

“Just try not to let it skip anymore counts.”

 

“Auto destruct in 65 lutens,” the voice said, as if taunting her.

 

She ran out of the room and activated her communications headset. “Andy. We need to check the pockets of all the prisoners. Over.”

 

“What are we looking for? Over.” Andy asked her.

 

“It looks like a car key fob. Over.”

 

“Ah, like the shimmer that Jack got from the Jathaa? Over.”

 

“Exactly!”

 

Andy put out a team wide alert as Rose arrived at the first room. Two agents were about to pick up the now awake Caxtarian and take him to the TARDIS. Like all the prisoners, his ankles and wrists were secured with plastic cable ties.

 

“Auto destruct in 60 lutens.”

 

“Hang on lads, I need to check his pockets.” Rose kneeled down alongside the alien and he started writhing in a most uncooperative way.

 

“Keep your hands off me you ape bitch.” He spat the words out.

 

“Keep still arsehole or you’ll find out that the bitch in me ain’t ape, its wolf.” A faint flash of gold crossed those gorgeous brown eyes and the prisoner froze in the sudden realisation that this female wasn’t all that she seemed to be.

 

His pockets were empty of any key fobs. “Okay, get ‘im outta here.”

 

Rose ran down the corridor to the next room that contained a prisoner that hadn’t been moved yet.

 

“Auto destruct in 55 lutens.”

 

“Hah! If it isn’t the celebrity Torchwood agent,” the Caxtarid scorned. That’s all she needed, an alien that read gossip magazines.

 

She tried to check his pockets but he wouldn’t keep still.

 

“And where’s that annoying, meddlesome husband of yours? Dead I hope.” He was kicking his tied legs at her trying to keep her away.

 

“Will you shut up and keep still.”

 

“Never bitch. And what will become of that pathetic half breed son of yours when you are both dead?” he taunted.

 

A slightly brighter flash of gold passed over her brown eyes as she balled her right fist.

 

WHACK!

 

She gave him a right cross to the jaw that would make Mike Tyson smile with pride.

 

“My husband....? Fair comment,” she said to the unconscious alien. “But my son….? Nobody bad mouths my son!”

 

“Auto destruct in 50 lutens.”

 

As she rummaged through his pockets, she looked around the room. There was a computer desk with a wire frame graphic of a human on the display. It was in a cross-legged sitting position.

 

She moved onto the next pocket, feeling the contents and pulling them out for inspection. What she noticed in the corner of the room, in an alcove that you couldn’t see from the door, made her stop and stare. It was a zombie, sitting cross-legged in a transparent holding cell.

 

It took her a moment to realise that she had a key fob device in her hand. She looked down at it.

 

“YES!” she said in triumph. She stood and ran out of the room, past the two agents who had come to take the prisoner away.

 

“Auto destruct in 45 lutens.”

 

Rose ran into the control room. “John! Here, use this.”

 

John took his head from out of a panel and Jack looked up at her as she skidded to a halt in front of them.

 

She saw the questioning look on their faces and explained.

 

“Psychic shimmer…. Like the one Jack got from the Jathaa…. It was Caxtardian, not Jathaan.”

 

“Psychic shimmer? Jathaan?” he said with a puzzled expression, and then the proverbial penny proverbially dropped.

 

“OH! Psychic shimmer! Of course. Rose, you’re brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a kiss.

 

“Well you were kinda distracted tryin’ to disable the auto destruct. Talkin’ of which, do you think you can remember what the commander looked like and how he spoke?” Rose said.

 

John tapped his temple. “Time Lord brain, and that’s not boasting.”

 

“Auto destruct in 40 lutens.”

 

He closed his eyes and thought of Kerra-Kashinkai in his office when he used the intercom. ‘I don’t think I will actually’ he had said. John pressed the button on the shimmer and opened his eyes.

 

“Well?” he asked. He saw Rose and Jack staring at him.

 

“Oh wow!” Rose said.

 

John stood in front of the face reader and pressed the button. A green light passed down his face and the display showed the face of Kerra-Kashinkai and a label that said ‘accepted’.

 

“Yes!” Jack said. “They either overlooked the possibility of using a shimmer on a biometric scan, or it’s a problem that they couldn’t overcome. Either way, it’s done us a favour.”

 

“This is Kerra-Kashinkai requesting cancellation of auto destruct sequence.”

 

“Please input authorisation code,” the voice said.

 

“What?” John asked.

 

“Please input authorisation code.”

 

“John, what are we goin’ to do? We don’t have the code?” Rose said.

 

“Hang on, his office is there.” John ran through to the office and sat at the desk. “Think. Think. Come on Donna, the best temp in Chiswick. Where would the boss keep his passwords that he never used. Everyday passwords he would remember, but important ‘only-for-use-in-an-emergency’ passwords, he would have to keep them somewhere.”

 

“Auto destruct in 30 lutens.”

 

Rose and Jack started looking under paperweights, keyboards, executive toys. ‘Executive toys?’ Rose thought. ‘Really?’. John sonicked his computer and accessed all the files, scrolling them down the screen at speed. It was no good, they were going to go out with a boom.

 

“Jack, Rose, you really need to get to the TARDIS now” John said.

 

“I don’t want to leave you,” Rose said.

 

“Not a chance Doc,” Jack said.

 

He cupped Rose’s cheek with his hand. “I know Love. But think of EJ. Hopefully it won’t come to that. You can help by brainstorming in the TARDIS. I’ll keep the Comms-Link open just in case.”

 

They kissed. “See you later,” she said.

 

“Not if I see you first,” he smiled.

 

Rose left the room and he sat back in the chair, looking over to Jack.

 

“Thanks,” he said simply. Jack just nodded.

 

“Auto destruct in 20 lutens.”

 

John leaned back and listened to his inner dialogue while Jack continued to search.

 

‘Well come on then Time Boy. IQ the size of a planet and you can’t see what’s in front of your face,’ Inner Donna chided.

 

‘Oi!’ he protested.

 

‘Oi. This is the office of the commander, the commandant. Important, arrogant and proud. He wouldn’t want to be caught sneaking a look under the plant pot would he, skinny boy?’

 

‘No,’ John said in the manner of a child being lectured by a teacher. “My internal dialogue never used to be like this.”

 

‘That’s because yer didn’t have me in here to keep ya company, did ya? So, where would he keep it?’ Inner Donna encouraged.

 

‘So he’d hide it in plain sight, where everyone could see it but no one would look at it.’

 

‘Clever boy. Off yer go then.’

 

John came out of his reverie, which had been fractions of a second, and looked around the room.

 

“Auto destruct in 10 lutens.”

 

“John.” It was Rose on the headset. “I had an idea and phoned Donna-the-house. I thought she might have an idea, being so like the original Donna. She said a pompous git like that would have it in a painting or a certificate, loud and proud on the wall.”

 

“9 lutens.”

 

John looked around the walls. “I think you might be onto something Love.” He scrolled through the service record of the commander on the screen. “Got it!” He sprang from the seat and rushed into the control room.

 

“This is Kerra-Kashinkai requesting cancellation of auto destruct sequence.”

 

“Please input authorisation code,” the voice said.

 

“3-7-1-5-0-3-4-2-4-3,” he said.

 

“Authorisation code incorrect. 4 lutens.”

 

“NO! It’s got to be that,” John said with panic rising in his voice.

 

‘He might be important, arrogant, proud, pompous and a git,’ Inner Donna said. ‘But he ain’t stupid.’

 

“3 lutens.”

 

“Of course! This is Kerra-Kashinkai requesting cancellation of auto destruct sequence.”

 

“Please input authorisation code,” the voice said.

  
“3424305173,” John said quickly. Both he and Rose said ‘I love you’ at the same time over the headsets.

 


	12. Saving the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alistair sees the arrival of Jackie and Rose after Canary Wharf and befriends a broken and hurting Rose.
> 
> The Doctor and Rose start clearing up the mess after Porton Down.
> 
> The Shadow Proclamation come to take the Caxtarids into custody, much to the annoyance of Pete.
> 
> Rose finds out something about Alistair and Alice.

****

** Chapter 12 **

 

 

 

 

** 5 years, 8 months previously **

 

Alistair heard his employer calling him from the front door, and he sounded quite emotional. He walked quickly from the kitchen, where he’d been drinking tea and chatting with the staff.

 

“What is it sir, has there been some trouble?” Alistair knew that there had been a major ‘operation’ at Canary Wharf, but didn’t know the details. Mickey had been on covert duties for a week now, and something big was going down, something about all the Cybermen disappearing years ago.

 

For the first time since he’d been in the employ of Pete Tyler, his unflappable demeanour was very nearly flapped. There, getting out of the Torchwood SUV was a ghost.

 

Impossible! Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler was getting out of the vehicle and opening the rear door for Mickey Smith. She came up the steps but didn’t seem to recognise him as she stood next to her husband.

 

“Mrs. Tyler! What a surprise. We were told you had been killed in the Cybermen attacks. It appears the report of your death was an exaggeration,” Alistair said, remembering a quote from Mark Twain.

 

“Jacks, this is Alistair, the house manager. You’ll get used to him,” Pete said with a lopsided smile.

 

“What? You’ve got a butler?” she asked Pete.

 

“Oh no ma’am, I don’t buttle, I manage,” Alistair said with a short nod.

 

Jackie looked him up and down. “Well, can you manage a cup of tea, ‘cause I’m gaspin’.”

 

This was a very different Mrs. Tyler to the one he remembered. There were no ‘airs or graces’ with this version, and she had a sense of humour. Alistair smirked, he was going to enjoy the banter with the new Mrs. Tyler, whoever she was.

 

“I will instruct the kitchen staff to put a pot on straight away,” he told her and went inside.

 

Pete called after him. “Oh, and Alistair, ask Jenny to make up a room for.... our daughter..”

 

Alistair turned in surprise with an eyebrow raised and saw Mickey carrying a young woman in behind Mr and Mrs. Tyler. ‘Oh dear God’ he thought to himself. What had this poor girl been through? She looked awful.

 

She was as white as a sheet and had red eyes surrounded with smudged black makeup, where she had obviously been crying. And those eyes had that familiar haunted look that seemed to occur in people who were around him.

 

Wait a minute?! ‘Daughter?’ Did he just say their daughter? What daughter? They didn’t have a daughter. They had a dog! It was definitely a dog, he’d seen it. He’d even fed it. He had never seen or heard of a daughter.

 

He would have to approach this one carefully. “A family reunion and a resurrection all in the same day. How wonderful.” Mr. Tyler gave him an icy stare at that. This was obviously something big and complicated. He would have to wait for the debriefing on this one.

 

“Yes sir, of course.” With that he turned and resumed his journey to the kitchen.

 

“Jenny, we have some…. guests. Mr. Tyler would like you to make up a bed for a young lady who will be staying here.”

 

“Of course Alistair, I’ll get it done now.”

 

“No, hang on. They want some tea first. If you could make up a trolley for them…. There’s something else you should know. Mrs. Tyler is back.”

 

“What?!”

 

“I know, but you’ll see for yourself when you take in the tea.”

 

Ten minutes after Jenny had taken the tea to the drawing room, the buzzer sounded in the kitchen meaning that he was wanted. ‘Here we go then’ he thought.

 

“Ah, Alistair, there you are. Come and sit down we have something to discuss.” Mr. Tyler indicated an empty chair opposite him.

 

“Jacks, Rose, all the staff working here have been screened by Torchwood security and have security clearance. It makes sense when you think about it, with all the informal meetings I have here.” He cleared his throat and looked at Alistair.

 

“So, Alistair, you know all the weird stuff that goes on at Torchwood? Well it just got a whole lot weirder.”

 

‘You can say that again’ Alistair thought to himself.

 

“I can’t tell you all the details but I can tell you this.” He looked at Mrs. Tyler.

 

“This is my wife, Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler.” He gave a laugh. “I got it right that time, messed it up at the wedding didn’t I Jacks.”

 

Alistair noticed a look pass between the two women.

 

“And on that day Rose, I asked your Mum to be my wife, and God knows why, she said yes. And on this day, Rose.” He paused and reached over to hold her hand. “I’m asking you if you would do me the honour.... of being my daughter?”

 

‘Rose?’ Their so called ‘daughter’ was named after their dog?

 

The young woman seemed to be struggling with her emotions. “I.... I....”.

 

“Look, you don’t have to say anything now if you don’t want to. I know it’s all a bit weird and Mickey said this weird stuff happens all the time to you,bu....”

 

“Yes!” she said quietly. “Oh yes! Definitely yes. Thank you. Yes.”

 

“You will? Even after the way I’ve behaved towards you, you’d say yes. Oh I don’t deserve you Rose.” His eyes were filling with tears. He stood up and pulled her into a fatherly hug.

 

“Alistair, may I introduce Rose, Marion Tyler. My long lost, and now found daughter. She has been studying at college in Switzerland, away from media attention. When the Cybermen attacked, I sent Jackie away to stay with her until she had finished her course. And now we are back together as a family.” He had his arm around her shoulder in a protective, fatherly way.

 

“She has lost someone today, someone very close and.... Anyway, please show her all the kindness and patience you can.”

 

Alistair knew a cover story when he heard one, and understood the message for him to keep his sarcasm under wraps for now.

 

Alistair stood up. “Understood sir, I shall go and inform the staff of the developments and curtail the gossip.” He left the room and closed the door behind him.

 

Over the next few weeks, Mickey told Alistair the story of Canary Wharf, not that he really believed it. But why would he lie about it? Unless it was a big Torchwood cover up.

 

One part of the story he knew was true. Rose had been devastated by the loss of a loved one. He could see it in her eyes, he could hear it in her voice, (when she ever spoke) and he could hear it in her sobs at night.

 

Her counsellor was really nice. Alice her name was, ‘very nice indeed’ Alistair thought. She was helping Rose to come to terms with her loss, and one day Alistair happened to be in the garden when Rose sat on one of the benches.

 

“May I join you Miss Tyler?” he asked.

 

“I love this bench,” he told her. “It’s so peaceful and private, and it catches the sun.”

 

“Yeah, it’s nice.”

 

“I know what it’s like you know.”

 

“Excuse me?” Rose said.

 

“Losing someone you love suddenly, unexpectedly. Someone you thought you’d be with for the rest of your life.”

 

He saw her eyes starting to glisten with tears and decided to change tack.

 

“Samantha,” he said by way of explanation. “She was gorgeous….” He started to tell her all about his lost love, and as he did, their friendship started to blossom on that bench. When he had finished, Rose wiped her eyes with a tissue and held his hand.

 

“Thank you Alistair. I know when you’re doin’ your ‘butler’ thing you have to call me Miss Tyler, but when no one’s listenin’ would you call me Rose?”

 

“I’d like that…. Rose. Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Alistair smiled in satisfaction. That was progress; she was going to be alright.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

Nothing happened for what seemed like a lifetime, which for John was a very long time indeed. He had scrunched up his eyes and tensed his body in anticipation of the impending explosion, as if that would make any difference to how his body would disintegrate into its constituent atoms.

 

“Auto destruct cancelled,” the voice announced.

 

John opened one eye and looked around the control room. He saw Jack scrunched up with one eye open, looking at him with the same look of disbelief on his face that he had.

 

He heard cheering in his headset as he rested his head against the panel and breathed out in relief. Jack pulled him into a hug and slapped him on the back.

 

“Hah! Just like old times,” Jack said

 

John turned, grabbed his lapels and gave him a big kiss full on the lips. To say he was overcome with relief was an understatement.

 

“Savour that, because that is the first and last, the one and only time that will ever happen!”

 

Rose ran into the control room squealing and leapt into John’s arms. He swung her around in a hug as they kissed, long and hard.

 

“You did it!” she cried. “You did it.”

 

“No Rose, we did it. We’re a team, remember?” She nodded as she released the hug and then hugged and kissed Jack.

 

“So where was it, the authorisation code?” she asked him.

 

He took her hand and led her back to the office. On the wall opposite the desk was a certificate of Kerra-Kashinkai’s promotion to the rank of commander.

 

“See the date at the bottom? It’s the Caxtarian calendar numbering system.”

 

“What, 37-15-03-4243?”

 

“Yep. 37th day of the 15th week of the third month in the year 4243, the day of his promotion ceremony. Except it wasn’t.”

 

“Eh?” Rose questioned.

 

“I checked his service record on the computer, and that wasn’t the date of his promotion. I then figured, well the Donna in me figured, that the date in reverse order was the code.”

 

Rose laughed, relieved that it was all over. “Brilliant. It’s nice to see you’re keeping up the tradition of cutting it fine and leaving things to the last second, or luten.”

 

“Hah! Come on, we’ve still got work to do,” he said as he put his arm around her shoulder. Jack put his arm around her other shoulder and she reached around their waists as they walked through the control room and out the doors.

 

“Oh John, I found somethin’ in one of the rooms that we cleared. I’d like you to have a look on the way to the TARDIS.”

 

They reached the room and Rose led them inside, taking them around the corner to the cell. The zombie was still sat cross-legged on the floor, not moving. John looked closely at the zombies face and scanned it with his sonic.

 

“Ah,” he said quietly. “I think we’ve just found Professor Jenkins.”

 

Rose gasped in horror and put her hand to her mouth. “Oh that poor man.”

 

“Unfortunately, it looks like he’s just one of many,” Jack said.

 

“He’s not like the one in the hospital or the bank though, John.”

 

“No, he’s not. And I think I know why.” John moved to the computer and started selecting some of the icons on the screen.

 

The zombie stood up when he selected one of the icons with a standing man on it.

 

“Ooh, now that’s interesting,” he said. “Jack, scan the microwave bandwidth while I select another icon.”

 

The zombie turned left, walked a step forward and stopped.

 

“It looks like serial digital data,” Jack said as he studied the display on his scanner.

 

“Right. I need to copy the hard drive on this computer.” John took out his tablet PC, linked to the computer with its ‘universal roaming’ feature he’d added, and downloaded the data onto the tablet.

 

“Right, let’s get a move on, we’ve got a lot to do.”

 

When they got back to the TARDIS, Rose called her Dad to tell him that they were alright. He already knew of course, as he’d been following the communications that had been relayed to dispatch through the TARDIS.

 

John asked him to call the chief pharmacist at Vitex Pharmaceutical, to start synthesising the antibiotic formula that he was emailing to him at that very moment. And yes, he did know what time it was.

 

The first stop for the TARDIS, was the parade ground where the base staff were assembled. They stepped out with General Chatfield, who was looking at the blue police box in complete astonishment.

 

“Does Torchwood have a lot of this technology?” he asked.

 

“Nah,” John said, putting his arm around Rose and pulling her close.. “This one’s ours.” He looked out over the assembled staff. “Now, did anyone here get sprayed by the sprinklers?”

 

The General called everyone to attention and got the affected people to step forward where John gave them a shot of antibiotic with a hypo spray. Jack handed each of them a bottle of tablets to follow up the injection and completely kill the infection.

 

“You need to get your maintenance people to spray some bleach through the sprinkler system for about an hour, that should kill any of the bugs,” John told Chatfield.

 

Andy arranged for the rest of the agents to take the vans back to Torchwood and then joined Jack and Jake on the TARDIS, where the next stop was the Republican Hope Hospital. There they delivered tablets and high dose infusion sets for the critically ill. The idea of sedating and cooling the patients had worked, delaying the onset of symptoms until the cure could be delivered.

 

“Right, the next thing we need to do is send the ‘sit’ signal via the TARDIS through the mobile phone transmitter masts to immobilize the zombies,” John said. “Andy, can you liaise with UNIT to round them all up and take them to one of their secure locations?”

 

“I’m on it,” he replied as he took out his phone.

 

“And finally, back to Torchwood.” John set the controls with a flourish and off they went.

 

As Rose opened the door of the TARDIS, she was pulled into a fierce hug by her father. “Thank God you’re alright. I was worried sick when your emergency beacon went off and Johns didn’t.” Pete reached past Rose and held out his hand for John who shook it.

 

“We’re fine Dad. We’ll explain everything in the debrief, but for now we need to get some sleep, I’m knackered.”

 

“I’ve put everything in place for tonight,” John told him. “We can start sorting out the mess in the morning.”

 

“It already is the morning,” Pete reminded him.

 

“Oh yeah. C’mon Rose, let’s go and get EJ and go home. Do you want a lift Pete?”

 

“It’d be easier and quicker than drivin’, why not.” He turned to Andy, Jack and Jake. “Go get some sleep and I’ll see you sometime later. Don’t try and come in for eight will you?” He turned back to John and Rose and they walked into the TARDIS.

 

“Why don’t the two of you stay in your old suite at the mansion for tonight? It will save having to disturb EJ,” Pete suggested.

 

“Can we John? I think that would be for the best for tonight.”

  
“Yeah. Thanks Pete, that would be brilliant.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

Rose experienced a moment of disorientation as she woke up in a bed that she hadn’t slept in for nearly two years. She opened her eyes and noticed that there was a depression in the pillow next to her, with no messy haired head on it.

 

She could hear the water running in the en-suite and realised that John was having his early morning shower. ‘Was it early morning?’ she asked herself and looked at the bedside clock. 09:24!!!

 

“Oh my God, we’re late for work,” Rose said to herself in a panic, and then remembered that her father had told them to have a lie in before they shuffled to their room. John had carried the carrycot into the bedroom with them, leaving EJ to have an undisturbed sleep.

 

She could hear her son stirring in his cot, and could feel him with her mind as he woke up. He was hungry, she could feel that. She leaned over and lifted him out onto her lap. While she was naked under the sheets, it was easy to nurse him and give him his breakfast.

 

She heard the water stop in the shower when John’s phone on the bedside table started to play the theme from ‘The Godfather’.

 

“JOHN!” she called out to him. “Your phone. It’s Dad.”

 

John came out of the en-suite with a towel around his waist. “He went in at his normal time, told me to stay here with you until you were ready to go in.”

 

He picked up the phone and answered the call, switching it to speaker phone so Rose could hear. “Pete, what’s up?”

 

Rose was sure she could have heard her Dad without the speakerphone.

 

“I’ll tell you what’s up. I’ve got an office full of ‘rhinoceros’ soldiers in space suits. I’ve no room to swing a mouse, let alone a cat, and the only word I can understand is ‘Doctor’.” Pete sounded annoyed. Rose started to snigger.

 

“Oh it’s the Judoon,” he said with a smile. “Put them on the speakerphone and I’ll talk to them.” Was that a huff he heard from Pete?

 

“Sco bo tro no flo jo,” he said. Rose was trying to stifle a laugh at his facial expression.

 

“Flo jo ko fo ro to,” the Judoon replied.

 

John raised an eyebrow and gave a single nod. “Ro to so. Bokodozogobofopoj Ke Caxtari,” he explained.

 

“No bo ho sho ko…. Moho,” the Judoon finished.

 

“They’ve come to transport the prisoners to the Shadow Proclamation,” he told Pete. “Oh and you have to put your thumb in the lower right hand corner of that clipboard thing that they’ve thrust in front of your face, it’s a release form.”

 

“How the hell did you know I had a clipboard thing in front of my face?” Pete asked.

 

“That’s easy, they’re Judoon,” John said by way of explanation. “If you get someone to take them down to the cells, they’ll take care of the rest.”

 

“ANDRE,” John heard him shout. “Can you show these…. ‘Gentlemen’ to the holding cells please.”

 

“Ko fo to bo ho sho,” John said into the phone. He heard all the Judoon in Pete’s office turn as one and start to march out of his office.

 

“A bit of warning would have been nice,” Pete said.

 

“Ah, that’s the Judoon for you, they aren’t known for observing niceties. No people skills. They like to arrive, do the job, and then go without so much as a by your leave.”

 

“I meant from you!” Pete said. Rose burst out laughing.

 

“I didn’t know when they were coming,” John protested. “It’s not my fault,” he told the dial tone. Pete had already hung up.

 

“I think you’re goin’ to have to buy him a bottle of his favourite malt to say sorry for that one Love,” Rose said, laughing so much that she gave EJ the hiccups.

 

John got dressed and took EJ off Rose so that she could have a shower. He changed his nappy and put some clean clothes on him before Rose came out of the en-suite to get dressed. When they were ready, they headed out of the door for the kitchen and breakfast.

 

They bumped into Alistair in the hallway as they closed the door to their suite.

 

“Dr. Smith, Mrs. Smith. How nice to see you back in the house again.”

 

“Alistair, how are you?” Rose said as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, which he returned.

 

John held up his arm for a fist bump. “Alistair, how’s it hanging?” he asked as they bumped fists.

 

“It’s hanging well thank you for asking,” he said with a grin.

 

“It doesn’t hang much at all when I’m around. I like to try and keep it erect,” a sultry voice said from down the hall.

 

Rose was stunned; it was the first time she had ever seen Alistair blush. They looked past him and saw Alice DiMaggio standing in the doorway of his suite, wearing one of his shirts and nothing else apparently.

 

“Alice!” Rose said. “How are you?” Alice had walked along the hallway and had a one armed hug from Rose, as she was holding EJ in the other. She put her hands on John’s shoulders and kissed his cheek, before turning back to Rose and holding her arms out for EJ.

 

Rose noticed that Alice was wearing a silver bracelet, Alistairs bracelet, or more accurately, Samantha’s bracelet. The significance of that wasn’t lost on Rose.

 

“Hasn’t he grown?” Alice said as she held him and cooed at him.

 

“So are you two officially an item now then?” Rose asked them.

 

Alistair put his arm around Alice’s shoulder and smiled. Rose noticed that there was something about his smile that was different. It was his eyes she decided, he was smiling with his eyes. Alice had weaved that counsellor magic on him and banished some of his demons.

 

Alice looked up into his eyes lovingly and then looked at Rose. “I’ve found a soul mate again. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to say that after the 2007 attacks.” Alice had lost her husband in the Cybermen attacks on London.

 

Rose reached forward and, without squashing EJ, hugged them both. “I’m so happy for the pair of you.”

 

“Thank you Rose,” Alistair whispered in her ear.

 


	13. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torchwood try to put the pieces together in the aftermath of the Caxtarid operation.
> 
> The Doctor and Rose take care of the dead, with unexpected help from the TARDIS.

 

** Chapter 13 **

 

 

 

Torchwood Head-of-Departments were sitting around the large round table in the briefing room with their reports in front of them. Pete called the meeting to order.  
  
“You all have the various reports in front of you,” Pete started. “I’ll give a brief summary and then we’ll discuss the outstanding issues. Feel free to jump in with any additional information you feel is relevant.”  
  
He used the remote to bring up images and reports on the media screens. There was the Caxtarid complex under Porton Down producing a biological weapon to turn the human race into dead soldiers.  
  
He told how the laboratory technician Linda Thomas, for reasons unknown, had stolen a sample of the pathogen and then had it stolen off her by Nicholas Fisher. Then Fisher had inadvertently infected himself when examining the contents of the stolen bag.  
  
Thomas’s brother, Peter Coyne had gone to visit her that evening and caught Fisher in the middle of a burglary where he had been bitten and consequently infected.  
  
Coyne was having an affair with Janet Parkes, an employee at the bank. They’d had sex in the privacy of the safety deposit vault, where it is presumed Coyne succumbed to the infection and died. Parkes must have panicked and fled the scene, leaving Coyne’s body locked in the vault.  
  
John explained that Thomas and Fisher had done the world a favour by stealing the sample, as it alerted them to the conspiracy. Without that stroke of luck, the whole world would have been infected before anything could have been done.  
  
Pete had found out from President Jones that Kerra-Kashinkai, posing as Professor Jenkins had secretly requested that all the samples be returned to Porton Down. Presumably this was a delaying tactic so that the Caxtarids could carry out their plan before being discovered.  
  
John explained how their covert surveillance of the Biological Research lab had gone wrong and that they had been captured by the soldiers on the base, who had no idea about the secret complex below ground.  
  
Andy described the rescue mission when Rose’s emergency beacon had been activated, and how the extraction team had been reassigned to intercept the contaminated Vitex drinks.  
  
As deputy Director, Jack was at the briefing and explained how John had disabled the auto destruct sequence and saved most of Britain from certain disaster.  
  
“So as far as I can see,” Pete said. “We have three outstanding issues. A Caxtarid commander on the loose, a missing lab technician with four samples of a pathogen that could devastate the planet, and a collection of zombies in a secure warehouse. Any suggestions?”  
  
Chrissie Anderson spoke first. “Regarding the fugitive Caxtarid, I have been looking at one of the shimmers that John brought back. I think that with John’s help I should be able to build a device to block the shimmer and reveal the user in their true form.”  
  
“Good, get straight on that would you. From what John tells me, this Kerra-Kashinkai is a nasty piece of work and needs to be stopped,” Pete said.  
  
The head of Microbiology explained about the zombies. “The zombies will eventually rot and fall apart. The bacteria can be destroyed with normal antibacterial methods, heat, powerful antiseptics or radiation.”  
  
“There might be a public outcry with some of those methods,” Pete said. “Remember the five million Cybermen that people wouldn’t let us destroy? It caused a whole ruck of trouble in the parallel universe.”  
  
“I might have an idea about that Pete,” John said. “If we get them into the TARDIS, she can eradicate the pathogen from the bodies and the grieving relatives can have closure by having the bodies back for a funeral.”  
  
“That would be an excellent solution,” the Psychology Head announced.  
  
“Okay, thanks for that John. I’ll leave you to liaise with UNIT on that,” Pete said.  
  
Jack had been wondering about the psychic shimmers. “John. These shimmers, do you know if they are generally available, say like a mobile phone, or are they restricted like a bugging device?”  
  
“That’s an interesting question Jack. In the old universe, they were Special Forces issue for covert operations. Why do you ask?” John said.  
  
“Well, the Jathaa on Wimbledon Common had one that they traded for the quantum tunnel diode. I thought the Jathaa were couriers, not secret agents?”  
  
“That’s right, they’re….” John suddenly went silent as his brain put all the pieces together. “How in the Vortex did I miss that? Damn this part human body! Too many distractions…. Although some of them are rather nice,” he said with a wistful smile.  
  
His face went serious again. “See what I mean? Right, focus. Linda Thomas didn’t steal those samples, it was a Jathaa courier using a shimmer,” he said.  
  
He looked at Jack. “Did you actually see the faulty quantum tunnel diode? Because I’m betting there was nothing wrong with it. They needed a reason to wait while their crew mate recovered the stolen sample and brought it back.”  
  
Jack shook his head. “No, they took the new unit and their engineer fitted it herself.”  
  
“Ah-ha, I knew it. They had a job on. Someone knew what the Caxtarids were doing and wanted some of it for themselves. They hired the Jathaa to acquire a sample and deliver it.”  
  
“But who?” Pete asked.  
  
“Ah, now that’s the question. Find the customer and you find the samples…. Or, find the samples and we find the customer.”  
  
“Okay people, let’s get moving. Chrissie, start your team working on the anti-shimmer device. Jack, look back over the movements of the Jathaa Sunglider, see if we can get any clues,” Pete said.  
  
He looked at John. “I’m afraid you’ve got the gruesome task John. Take whoever and whatever you need to help you,” Pete said quietly.

  
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

  
Chrissie had gone to the Technical Support Department, where she had her office. John had given her a quick run down on the shimmer, the theory, principles and practical implementation of the technology. Her team of experts had hooked one of the shimmers up to an array of sensors and were running a series of tests. It appeared that the device emitted an interference pattern that distorted reflected light off a person and produced a kind of holographic representation of the user’s choice.  
  
Each engineer thought of a person and pressed the button on the shimmer, turning into the person they were thinking about. The shimmer also affected the pitch and timbre of the voice to complete the illusion. As long as the shimmer was in close proximity to the user, such as in a pocket or a shoulder bag, then it would work.  
  
The number of different attempts gave them a broad range of data that allowed them to find a common interference frequency that was present for each use.  
  
“If that’s the case, I should be able to detect that interference pattern and locate the Caxtarid fugitive,” she said to herself. She moved over to her computer console and started recalibrating the detectors on a geostationary satellite over Britain.  
  
Ten minutes later, she had a ‘hit’ on the monitor. “Damn I’m good,” she said with a self satisfied smile. She picked up the phone and called the Director.  
  
“Pete, it’s Chrissie, I’ve found him. He’s back in London.”  
  
“Good work Chrissie. Feed that to Andy and let him deal with it would you?”  
  
“Sure thing.” Just then, Dispatch had a call from John, who was with Rose over at UNIT.  
  
“Chrissie, Pete, sorry to cut in on your conversation, but I think you had better come and see this. John is sending a video stream from the warehouse, I’ll put it on the media screen in Operations,” Danny Walton said.

  
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

  
  
Jack sat at a console in the Communications Centre and started reviewing satellite images and data from the last few days. He saw the Sunglider as it landed on Wimbledon Common, and then just sit there. He zoomed in and enhanced the image, watching again for any small clues.  
  
There were some dog walkers, where the dogs appeared to bark or howl at the spaceship and then run away. The police came and cordoned off the ship with tape, and then Black Watch arrived. Later, Jack saw himself and Gwen arrive, and then later still the technician arrived with the spare part for their star drive.  
  
Jack remembered the police officers escorting them to and from the ship through the cordon, while keeping the public back at a safe distance, and he could see that on the replay.  
  
Soon after that, the Sunglider started to rise up and climb into the sky, heading north as it went. Jack presumed it achieved orbit and went on its way. ‘Presumption is the mother of all cockups’, he heard Doc saying in his head.  
  
“I suppose the devil is in the detail,” he said to himself and started going over it one more time, almost one frame at a time. He reached for his mug of coffee and lifted it as he took a slurp. When the mug came back down something caught his eye.  
  
It was one of those moments that happened occasionally, where you do something at the right time and it makes a difference. He didn’t know what was different, he would have to rewind and look again, and again until he spotted it.  
  
And there it was. Mathematics, pure and simple. How many people does it take to change a light bulb? How many police officers does it take to cordon off a Jathaa Sunglider? Three apparently, until you get four, and where did that fourth officer come from? Out of thin air!  
  
He started playing backwards, following the mysterious police officer.  
  
“Oh that’s interesting,” he said to himself. The officer seems to have been a member of the public, a mysterious woman. He followed her back across the common to her point of origin, to a car parked in a side street. A blue Renault Clio.  
  
He went back to CCTV footage and to the photographs taken by Julia De Graff. There was the blue Renault Clio, parked in the same side street, the one owned by Linda Thomas, a.k.a, a police officer, a.k.a, a Jathaa courier.  
  
He could see the scenario playing out in his head.  
  
Find a laboratory technician who lived off the base, one week there, one week at home.  
  
Use a shimmer to take her place, steal the samples and return to her home.  
  
Leave the car and everything there and travel to the nearest open area for extraction, i.e. Wimbledon Common.  
  
But it didn’t work out like that did it? They didn’t take into account the opportunist nature of your honest to goodness London thief. ‘God bless ‘em’, Jack thought with a smile. Salt of the Earth and saviours of the world.  
  
“So where are you now Linda Thomas?” he asked out loud. He doubted that the Jathha had killed her. From what he knew and what Doc had told him, they weren’t the brutal psychopathic killers that the Caxtarids were. Once they had got what they wanted from her there was no reason to kill her.  
  
He closely followed the movements of people to and from the Sunglider, but apart from that police officer, everyone was accounted for until the ship took off. He left the video running while he finished his coffee, and as before it headed north.  
  
But then it did something odd, it put down in the Eastern Highlands of Scotland. Near a little village called Tomintoul in Glenmore Forest Park in the Cairngorms, before heading out of the atmosphere and into deep space.  
  
It was time to call Archie McTavish at Torchwood Two in Glasgow. He was a one man operation up there, but had hundreds of mountain rescue volunteers and university professors who acted as agents and consultants for Torchwood.  
  
Jack headed for Dispatch in the Operations Room and asked Danny to put a call through to Torchwood Two.  
  
“The Haggis!” Danny said with a laugh. “Good luck with that one.”  
  
“Yeah, I know. He was the same in the other universe.”  
  
“Hello?” this thick Scottish accent said over the speaker.  
  
“Director McTavish, I’m Jack Harkness, Deputy Director of Torchwood One. I wonder if I could have a minute of your time?”  
  
“Aye laddie. What can I doo f’yer?”  
  
“A couple of nights ago we tracked a Jathaa Sunglider from here in London to the Glenmore Forest Park where I believe it may have released a kidnapped woman before heading out into space.”  
  
“Would that have been 20 miles south east of Inverness by any chance?”  
  
“Yes, that would be about right.”  
  
“One of the lads out there filed a report on the server. I’ll get the local constabulary to make some enquiries fer yer.”  
  
“That’s great Archie. Thank you.”  
  
“Nay problem Jack lad. Speak t’yer soon.”

  
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

  
“You’re not doin’ this alone,” Rose told him as John explained about dealing with the zombies.  
  
“It’s going to be unpleasant Rose; I didn’t want you to feel as though you had to come.”  
  
She held his hand and smiled. “Hey, we’re a team, remember? Shiver and Shake?” She kissed him on the cheek.  
  
“Come on then, let’s get this over with.” The TARDIS was on its landing pad in the Operations Standby Room, where they had flown in directly from the mansion that morning.  
  
While they were in the TARDIS, they put on the orange Haz-Mat suits and smiled at each other through the visors of the helmets.  
  
When the Time Rotor stopped pumping, they walked down the ramp and opened the doors. Rose jumped in surprise when she saw two dozen grey faces staring blankly at them. There were UNIT soldiers in the warehouse who were also wearing Haz-Mat suits.  
  
“John,” Rose said quietly. “I know this place.” She had a feeling of deja vu which made her shudder. How could she know this warehouse? And then it hit her.  
  
“Oh no. This is where we built a time machine to send Donna to her death in that alternate time line, y’know, when she had that beetle on her back.  
  
“Hey, it’s okay,” he told her. “That never happened, remember? You fixed it. She never really died because you were brilliant.”  
  
“Yeah, I know, but seein’ it again makes it feel real.”  
  
“I know, it’s one of those wibbly wobbly moments.”  
  
One of the UNIT soldiers approached and saluted. “Captain Lewis. You must be Dr. and Mrs. Smith.”  
  
John flinched. “Please don’t salute, it makes me want to run away as fast as I can.” Captain Lewis looked puzzled.  
  
Rose laughed. “Don’t worry, my husband has issues when it comes to authority.” She glanced quickly at John and then added. “Except when it’s me of course.”  
  
The Captain wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. He’d been warned that these two were a bit ‘unusual’. “So how’s this going to work then,” he asked as his men started to erect portable screens either side of the TARDIS doors.  
  
John picked up his tablet and switched it on. “I’ll get them to walk forwards using this.” He held up his tablet. “The screens will corral them into the TARDIS, where I will give the command to lie down. We close the doors and the control room is flooded with ionising radiation for 30 minutes that will kill all the bugs.”  
  
“Isn’t that level of radiation going to affect the whole area?” the Captain asked.  
  
“No, the TARDIS is shielded. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out,” John said with a hint of pride.  
  
“And is it true what they say, that it’s bigger on the inside?”  
  
Rose grabbed the Captain’s hand and pulled him forward to the doors. “Have a look before we start.”  
  
“Good Lord! I thought I was having my leg pulled,” Lewis said.  
  
“Okay, stand back. I’m giving the walk command.”  
  
The dead walked, moving forward and funnelling into the TARDIS. Rose could hear a sad, haunting Gallifreyan song in her head  
  
“John?”  
  
“I hear it. It’s the TARDIS; she’s singing a lament for the dead.”  
  
Rose cried out and gasped as she saw children, who had been hidden behind the adults, walking in through the doors. Her vision blurred with tears that she couldn’t wipe away because of the helmet. They trickled down her cheeks.  
  
John gently placed his arm around her shoulder as the last of the dead passed through the doors. They saw Fisher, Coyne and Jenkins walk past, and recognised Janet Parkes from the bank CCTV camera.  
  
He used the tablet again and all the dead lay down on the floor. He silently closed the doors on the macabre scene. A final touch of the tablet screen remotely activated the TARDIS ionisation chamber. There was a low hum and the light on top of the police box started to flash.  
  
The atmosphere in the warehouse was grim, even the UNIT soldiers felt the oppressive mood of the TARDIS. A number of the soldiers had tanks of bleach on their backs with which they sprayed the floor. Other soldiers had brooms that scrubbed the bleach across the floor, sterilizing the area.  
  
While they were waiting, Rose had been thinking about what he had just done with his tablet PC and the TARDIS.  
  
“John, y’know how yer just activated the TARDIS with your tablet?”  
  
“Yeah?” he replied, wondering where this was going.  
  
“Well, I’ve been thinkin’. You had ‘emergency programme one’ that got the TARDIS to take me home that time on Satellite Five.”  
  
“Yeah?” He was still wondering.  
  
“I still haven’t given you the slap ya deserve for pullin’ that stunt,” she said. “But anyway, when you lost the TARDIS on Krop Tor, don’t ya think it would have been useful to have a remote emergency programme that yer could have activated to call the TARDIS back to ya?”  
  
He stood there looking at her, dumbfounded. 900 years and he’d never thought of that. There was that time with Martha as well, on that ship that was falling into the Torajii Sun. The TARDIS was stuck in area 30 that was too hot to enter.  
  
And then again on the Titanic, the one in space, not the one in the Atlantic. He saw his TARDIS drifting past the window outside, and no way to get to it. On that occasion it followed it’s default programming and landed on the nearest centre of gravity, the Earth. Why not add some extra programming? New TARDIS, new protocols.  
  
“Rose, how do humans make these ideas seem so easy?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
“I guess we’re just better at seein’ the obvious. Y’know, seein’ what’s under yer nose.”  
  
With ten minutes left to go, John noticed a lightening on the TARDIS’s mood. He looked at Rose, a questioning look on his face. Rose looked at him with wide eyes. She’d felt it as well.  
  
“It must be nearly over,” he said. “The dead must be at rest, that must be why her mood has changed.”  
  
When the sterilization had finished, John felt that the mood from the TARDIS could almost be called ‘smug’. Something wasn’t right and he wanted to get inside to find out what was going on, and to let the soldiers move the corpses into the temporary mortuary.  
  
When the hum and the flashing light stopped, he went to put the key in the lock. Rose let out a small scream as the door opened on its own.  
  
“What in Kasterborous?” he said as a man stood in the doorway.  
  
“Excuse me?” the man said, looking confused and concerned at people in Haz-Mat suits looking like astronauts. “Can someone tell me where I am and what’s going on?”  
  
“What?!” John said. “What?”  
  
They could hear voices coming from inside and children crying, wanting their mothers. John opened the other door and they could see two dozen men, women and children milling about in the control room.  
  
“Oh TARDIS. What have you done?” These people had been dead. They were supposed to stay dead. The TARDIS should know this. “You can’t do this, you can’t interfere like this.”  
  
Rose touched his arm and looked in wide eyed wonder. “But John, isn’t this like Albion Hospital with the gas mask people? They were dead, living dead, and the nanogenes brought them back to life.”  
  
“Yes I know Rose but that was diff….” He stopped in mid sentence. “Nanogenes! TARDIS, have you used nanogenes?”  
  
He walked into the control room and clapped his hands hard. The air sparkled with bright gold dust. “Ha-hah!” he laughed out loud. “Nanogenes. You clever girl. Rose, you clever girl as well. She used nanogenes to fix everyone, just like you said.”  
  
He was jumping up and down now and he grabbed Rose in a spinning hug. “Just like back then Rose, everybody lives. It was just that once, and now it’s twice, everybody lives.” He was overcome with his human emotions.  
  
For centuries he’d had to see people die who he couldn’t save. Occasionally he would be able to save the odd one or two, but usually at the expense of many more. Days like this didn’t happen to him very often, and now when they did he could really appreciate them with his ‘inner Donna’.

 


	14. Kick ass celebrity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor, Rose, Jack and Gwen catch up with the Commander and get him cornered. (That’s when he’s at his most dangerous)
> 
> Rose does some kick ass Kung Fu, while the Doctor and Jack look on in admiration. (I really enjoyed writing that bit)

 

** Chapter 14 **

  


 

Chrissie caught the lift down to the third floor, to the Operations Room and stopped dead in her tracks. Maybe that wasn’t the best description under the circumstances, because the dead were no longer dead in their tracks. Pete arrived shortly afterwards and looked at the screen.

 

“What the fu….” He managed to curtail his expletive before Chrissie heard it.

 

“Dad? Is that you?” Rose’s voice asked over the video link. “Can yer see this? They’re alive! The TARDIS fixed ‘em!”

 

“What? How?”

 

“It’s a bit complicated Pete,” John said. “But I’ll try and explain in the debrief later. For now though, I think we need some counsellors down here and we need to contact the families.”

 

“Of course. Danny, give Psychology a call and get them mobilised. John, I need you and Rose back here, Chrissie has found the Caxtarid, and he’s in London.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“Jack, you’re a bad influence on ‘im,” Rose said as they entered the foyer of the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square.

 

“What? I was only saying hello,” John said as the doors closed behind them. He put on his combat helmet and powered up the electronics. “Okay, where did he go?”

 

Rose checked her scanner and turned in a semi circle. “He’s on the next level up; he might be heading for the roof.”

 

“Right, let’s get a fly in the air and see what he’s up to,” John said.

 

They moved into the stairwell and John took a black ring box out of a pocket and flipped it open. Inside was a spy-fly, a tiny surveillance device that could be controlled from a tablet PC. Gwen selected the control app on her tablet and the fly started to hover and then move up the stairs.

 

Rose sent her scanner data via bluetooth to Gwen’s tablet and the fly ‘homed in’ on the shimmer. They could all see the video stream from the fly on their helmet ‘head up’ displays.

 

“There he is,” Jack said as they caught sight of a man in a cinema uniform. “Let’s go. Draw your weapons and remember, he probably still has that plasma weapon and he has shown that he is prepared to use it.”

 

“If I can get close enough, I can jam it with my sonic screwdriver,” John told them.

 

“Okay, but no unnecessary risks,” Jack said, looking deliberately at John. He knew him too well.

 

The fly showed them that it was safe to enter the hallway from the stairwell, and they moved in their standard ‘search and secure’ pattern up to the next corner. They knew Kerra-Kashinkai was around the corner, so John took out a shimmer looking device of his own.

 

When he pressed the button, they saw in their displays that the cinema employee turned into a Caxtarid commander, complete with metallic red hair and glowing red eyes.

 

“I can see you,” John sing-songed around the corner.

 

“Oh not you again? This could be construed as persecution of a visiting alien.”

 

“Don’t sound so innocent and hard done by commander. I can see that you have a plasma caster drawn and ready to shoot at anyone who comes around the corner. Add to that the number of people you killed with a genetically modified pathogen, with the intention of killing billions more and I think that means you should get prosecution, not persecution.”

 

“You’ve got to catch me first, and you haven’t been too successful at that in the past, have you Doctor?” he taunted. “But please, come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.”

 

Rose could see that the taunting was getting to him. “John?” she said cautiously, reminding him that Kerra-Kashinkai was a psychopath that would kill him in an instant.

 

John smiled and took out his sonic. He adjusted the setting and pressed the button. After the familiar warbling whistle, he checked the reading and started to chuckled to himself.

 

“We're in the middle of the makin's of the plasma caster jammin',” he sang to the strain of the Stevie Wonder song. The sonic showed that it had disabled the commander’s weapon.

 

“99, 100! Here I come, ready or not!” John stepped around the corner and Kerra-Kashinkai pulled the trigger. There was a fizzle and a phutt, followed by a pop as the weapon failed. The rest of the Torchwood team followed him around the corner.

 

“I guess that’s ‘not’ then,” John quipped.

 

Kerra-Kashinkai threw the weapon at them, making them duck out of the way as he dived through an access door and disappeared. Rose rolled her eyes and looked at John.

 

“You’ve always got to give ‘em the gob first, haven’t ya? Couldn’t just shoot him first, then do the one liner.”

 

John looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

 

Rose smiled at him, she couldn’t stay mad at that puppy dog expression. “You’re forgiven this time. But remember, in future, just zap ‘im.”

 

“Yes miss,” he said with a cheeky smile.

 

Behind the door were some stairs that led to the roof.

 

“Looks like he went up then.”

 

Jack started climbing the stairs as Gwen sent the fly ahead of him to scout the roof.

 

“It’s a kind of gable roof with flat walkways around the edge, and the ‘Odeon tower’ at the front. He could have gone around to the left or the right,” she announced. “Go left Jack and I’ll send the fly ahead of you.”

 

“Okay, going left.”

 

Jack used the door as cover as he looked around. There was no sign of their quarry. Rose reached the top of the stairs, turned right and waited for John and Gwen. She knew better than to go after a suspect without backup.

 

“Okay. Gwen, you follow Jack and keep the fly in the air. John and me will go around this way and try and head him off,” Rose instructed.

 

They edged their way along the narrow walkway past air conditioning units and ducts that could have hidden the Caxtarid. At the end of the walkway, John looked over a railing at the adjacent building where someone could jump down onto the lower roof.

 

“JACK! Behind you!” they heard Gwen call through the headset. They turned and ran back along the walkway and on in the direction Jack and Gwen had gone.

 

At the end of the walkway they could see Jack being held around the neck from behind, with his Glock 17C, semi automatic pistol pointing under his chin. Gwen was standing five feet in front of them with her stun gun aimed at them.

 

“Fire your stun guns, and I will pull the trigger before I succumb to the energy discharge,” Kerra-Kashinkai told them.

 

“Sorry guys,” Jack said. “He must have been in one of the ducts so that the fly didn’t see him.”

 

“Drop your weapons,” Kerra-Kashinkai ordered.

 

“What, and then you shoot us,” Rose said. “Ain’t gonna happen alien.”

 

“Drop them or I shoot anyway, it’s your choice. There’s a scout ship coming to rescue me. Drop your weapons, get off the roof and I’ll let your colleague go when my ship arrives.”

 

“And why should we believe you?” John asked. “Your track record on trustworthiness hasn’t been that good so far.”

 

“A fair comment, but what choice do you have.” He pressed the Glock harder into Jack’s throat.

 

“Don’t do it. You can’t let him get away. He’ll only go somewhere else and do it again,” Jack said.

 

“Oh how noble of you.” He looked directly at John. “Well?”

 

John stared at him for what seemed like an eternity as he considered the options. They were limited, and when the scout ship arrived they would be outnumbered. There was only one option. He holstered his stunner and gestured for Rose and Gwen to do the same.

 

“Sorry Jack, you’re too valuable to lose. Tell me Kerra-Kashinkai, before we go, why did you come back to London?”

 

“Oh that? Simple really, I have an equipment stash close by. Mainly a hyper wave transmitter for contacting my ship. I had just called them when you discovered me. I ran into the cinema hoping to give you the slip among the crowds.”

 

“Oh, okay,” John said matter-of-factly. “We’d better get off the roof,” he told his team mates. “See you later Jack.”

 

They went through the door and Rose was about to read him the riot act when he turned around to face them.

 

“Gwen. Stay here and monitor the situation on the fly. Rose, we don’t have much time, we’ve got to run. It’ll be just like old times.”

 

“We haven’t got much time for what?” she asked, but he had already grabbed her hand and started to run down the stairs.

 

Gwen saw Kerra-Kashinkai release Jack from his neck grip but keep the Glock pointing at him.

 

“Very carefully, remove your stun gun and throw it over the edge,” the commander instructed. Jack used his thumb and index finger to lift the stunner out of its holster and drop it over the handrail, where it clattered to the ground below.

 

“So,” Jack said conversationally. “You going to let me go, or are you going to shoot me when your ship arrives?”

 

“You know, I really haven’t decided yet. Let’s see what happens shall we. At the moment you are alive because the moment I kill you there will be nothing to stop your people from storming the roof and taking me captive.”

 

Just inside the door to the roof, Gwen was monitoring the situation on her tablet via the fly, when she heard Rose’s voice in her headset.

 

“Gwen, we’re going to attempt a rescue. Please don’t take any action, no matter how bad it looks. Jack’s life depends on it. Over.”

 

“Er, okay. Roger that. Over.”

 

Jack heard the high pitched whistle of manoeuvring thrusters and looked across the gabled roof. An alien ship skimmed the roof tops as it approached their position. It positioned itself so that the hatch was level with the top of the handrail at the far end of the walk way.

 

“Ah, I think that’s my ride,” Kerra-Kashinkai said. He motioned with the Glock for Jack to precede him. Jack raised his hands and slowly walked towards the ship. The hatch opened, and he could see a Caxtarid standing in the airlock waiting for them.

 

“Greetings Commander. Is the prisoner coming as well? He would make some good in-flight entertainment while we are travelling.”

 

Kerra-Kashinkai gave a single laugh. “What an excellent suggestion. It’s been quite a while since I had the opportunity to torture someone.”

 

Jack used both his hands to pull himself into the airlock on his knees. He felt a hand grab the back of his collar and pull him in, and his face had an expression as though he was listening to something that was puzzling him.

 

The Caxtarid held out his hand for Kerra-Kashinkai, who handed over the Glock and then took the hand for a pull up into the airlock.

 

Gwen was watching anxiously as she saw Jack being pulled into the airlock, followed by the Caxtarid fugitive.

 

“Come on you two, where are you?” she asked out loud. She knew they had a reputation for leaving things to the last minute, but this was just too close. She then saw something that made her thump the tablet PC as though it had developed a fault.

 

The Caxtarid scout ship faded and morphed into a 1960’s blue wooden police box that she knew only too well.

 

“Welcome aboard Commander Kerra-Kashinkai,” the Caxtarid officer said as the airlock faded, revealing a large control room that appeared to have a Victorian decor. Up a ramp, in the centre of the room was another Caxtarid operating a hexagonal control console.

 

“What is going on? What is this place?” Kerra-Kashinkai asked, as the officer handed Jack his Glock and made his way up the ramp. The two Caxtarids reached into their pockets, took out key fobs and pressed the buttons, turning them into John and Rose.

 

“This place is the TARDIS,” Rose said. “And you’re under arrest is what’s going on.”

 

The Commander moved fast, faster than a human, and grabbed Rose around the neck. He had already drawn her Glock and had it pointing at her right temple.

 

“I don’t think so,” he said with venom in his voice. “Pathetic apes! Dr. Smith, you will take me to my home world and surrender yourselves to the authorities. Otherwise your beautiful wife will have a bullet pass through her beautiful head.” He moved her up the ramp towards the control console.

 

Rose rolled her eyes. “I told you. Didn’t I tell you John? Didn’t I say he would think Earth women were weak and feeble and easily subdued?”

 

John grinned and nodded in agreement. “She did you know. She’s smart like that, my Rose. She passed a hostage negotiation course with flying colours ‘cause she’s brilliant.”

 

“Aw shucks,” she said with false modesty.

 

“Excuse me! I have a gun at your wife’s head,” Kerra-Kashinkai said in disbelief.

 

“Yeah, I know,” John said. “And I’m no expert on firearms. Welll, in fact you could say I hate them, what with all that noise and smoke and bullets. Oh yes bullets…. aren’t they supposed to have bullets?”

 

“What?” The Commander looked down and saw Rose pull out a handful of bullets from her pocket. She suddenly brought her elbow back and hit him just below the ribs; she lifted her arm and repeated the action to catch the side of his jaw. He staggered backwards against the handrail that ran around the edge of the decking.

 

She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. “Psychology Commander. You may not be human, but arrogant bastards are the same the universe over. I knew you’d make a grab for my gun when the game was up, so I took the precaution of removing the ammunition.”

 

Kerra-Kashinkai roared in anger and took his fighting stance. Rose took a traditional kung fu stance, circled her arms and wobbled her head a little in homage to her hero Bruce Lee. She knew Andy McNab would disapprove of showboating, but this was for John and Jack. She would snap back to street fighting when Kerra-Kashinkai made his move.

 

“No interferin’ lads. This one’s all mine,” she said with a grin, offering him to come on with her fingers.

 

John came and stood next to Jack, who was leaning against the handrail with his arms crossed.

 

“You’ll get no argument from me sweetheart,” Jack said smiling. “I’ve been waiting to see you in action since the kidnapping at Christmas.”

 

Rose had taken out an assailant before being hit by a tranquiliser dart. Jack was hit first and missed the impressive display of martial arts, and John had heard about it from witnesses at the scene.

 

Kerra-Kashinkai lunged forwards and they traded a few punches and kicks that were dodged and parried [THWACK, THUD, SMACK]. He threw a roundhouse kick which Rose caught while stepping between his legs and tripping him backwards. As he hit the decking [THUD] she stamped her boot between his legs [WHACK].

 

It didn’t get the reaction that she was expecting and he kicked her legs from under her.

 

John saw the confused look on her face. “No external genitalia,” he called to her.

 

“Oh, right,” she nodded. The Commander climbed to his feet and Rose used her gymnastics to back flip up onto her feet. Jacks eyebrows raised in admiration as he nodded at her skill.

 

John looked at him with a proud smile on his face. “Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team. She got the bronze y’know.” They looked back to the main event where both fighters were circling each other.

 

“Don’t tell Rose, but after our first adventure, she didn’t want to come with me, so I went off on my own. I was curious about her so I went to see her get that bronze medal. She was awesome even then.”

 

[THWACK, THUD, SMACK] They traded more blows, when Kerra-Kashinkai dodged a punch and got behind Rose, trapping her arm in a straight arm lock behind her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. With her forearm trapped on top of his shoulder, she could feel her elbow being stretched further than it was meant to go.

 

John and Jack both took a step forward. “Are you alright Love?” John asked.

 

“Urgh, just…. brilliant…. thanks,” she gasped.

 

Kerra-Kashinkai spoke into her ear.  “I wonder how much pressure it would take to snap this feeble human arm? Let’s find out shall we?”

 

Feeble? Was he calling her feeble? ‘I’ll show him feeble’, she thought. She pushed backwards until they hit the handrail and stopped suddenly. That sent a stab of pain up her arm, it felt like her elbow would snap and her shoulder would dislocate.

 

‘Now what?’ she thought. She couldn’t reach behind with her free arm, she was stuck. Normally she would have kicked upwards with her heel between his legs, but this alien had no balls. Not any on the outside anyway.

 

She could see John’s face was pale with worry. He was poised, ready to move in, his fists clenched by his side.

 

“Don’t-you-dare,” she said through clenched teeth, her eyes stinging with tears of pain.

 

This alien was just a bully, nothing more, nothing less. She never put up with bullying at school, and she wasn’t about to start now.

 

School! Of course! There was one thing from school that she was proud of. It was a long shot, but it might just work. She only hoped that this bully wasn’t into an alien equivalent of yoga.

 

She positioned her feet inside his and with a sudden thrust, started to drop into the splits. She reckoned that the Commander wouldn’t be as supple as she was.

 

She was right. He immediately let go of her hair and tried to support his weight on the handrail. The pressure on her elbow eased, and she pushed out even further. Kerra-Kashinkai’s legs were trapped by the outward pressure of Rose’s feet.

 

“Aaaaghooooohhh.” Kerra-Kashinkai released the arm lock as both of his hands tried to support his burning hamstrings. Rose tilted her head back against his chest to look up at his face. His mouth and eyes were wide in pain. John and Jack looked on with sympathetic agony on their faces.

 

She balled her right fist, and a punch shot directly upwards under his chin. His teeth made a satisfying ‘clack’ as they banged together and he sagged backwards against the handrail.

 

Rose leaned forwards and put her hands on the floor and gracefully raised her body into a handstand. Kerra-Kashinkai’s knees snapped together and dropped to the decking.

 

She then arched one leg backwards until it touched the floor behind her, followed by the other leg, then her body arched upwards until she was standing erect with her arms out, as though she had just completed a floor exercise. She gave them a cheeky smile and a saucy wink.

 

“I had no idea Rose was so flexible,” Jack said, smiling back at her.

 

John didn’t respond, he had a daft grin on his face, and a faraway look in his eyes as he remembered their first night together, and how he’d discovered just HOW flexible she really was.

 

Rose turned around, dropped back into her street fighting stance, and started to circle the stiff legged Commander.

 

There was a flurry of punches, [WHACK, THWOP, SMACK, THWACK] some of which found their target and others that were parried.

 

[SMACK] Kerra-Kashinkai caught Rose on the jaw with a punch that put her on the floor. John unfolded his arms and took a step forward again.

 

“Are you alright Love?” he asked her, ready to leap in and finish it.

 

Rose groaned as she held her jaw and worked it around. She put her hand up to stop him as she rolled her tongue around the inside of her lip. She spat out some blood.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she gasped. “I can take ‘im.”

 

“Now who’s being arrogant?” Kerra-Kashinkai said as he stood over her.

 

She stamped a side kick out from the floor and caught Kerra-Kashinkai’s knee, [CRUNCH] which buckled and sent him to the floor.

 

John continued his story. “I jumped forward a few years and saw her friends getting bikes for Christmas. Jackie couldn’t afford to buy her one, and I couldn’t help myself, I went back and bought her a bike. She loved that bike.”

 

The two fighters climbed to their feet once more. They looked battered and weary.

 

“I then did something else that I couldn’t help myself doing; I went back and asked her again. For Rose, it was only a few seconds later.”

 

Kerra-Kashinkai launched a front kick, but with his stiff legs and injured knee it didn’t quite go right. Rose dodged to the side and caught his leg, slammed a palm strike into his chest [THUMP] and hooked his supporting leg with her calf. With his leg no longer under him, he fell back hard onto the decking [THUD].

 

Rose rested her hands on her thighs as she leaned forward and took some deep breaths. Kerra-Kashinkai used the handrail to pull himself into a standing position, leaning heavily on it for support.

 

“There’s a difference between arrogance,” Rose said as she ducked under a swing and hit him in the gut with a right cross [THUD]. “And supreme confidence,” she finished, as a hook connected with his jaw [SMACK].

 

The Commander sagged back against the handrail. Rose pulled herself up to her full five feet, five inches and straightened her shoulders.

 

“This planet is defended!” She spun like a top and lifted her leg as she circled around. The heel of her boot caught the Commander perfectly on the side of his jaw [THWOCK]. He rolled along the handrail and thudded to the floor.

 

She knew it was showboating again and that Andy would probably disapprove, but what the hell. If you’re going to finish it, finish it with style.

 

John and Jack started to applaud as they walked towards her. She wearily fell into a hug with her husband. He looked down at her and saw her fat lip and bruised cheek bone.

 

“You okay?” he said concerned.

 

“Yeah. Nothin’ a bit of ice won’t fix,” she said with smile that made her wince.

 

“Rose Smith…. Defender of the Earth,” he said as he held her face in his hands. He gently brushed her lips with his and she flinched slightly, but when he pulled away so as not to hurt her, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a snog.

 

Her fingers ran through his oh so fantastic hair, her second favourite part of him. ‘But what about his lips?’ she thought to herself distractedly. They were pretty awesome as well. Then there was his tongue. ‘Oooh what he could do with that tongue of his’. No wonder he’d got a gob on him with equipment like that.

 

Jack chuckled to himself as he watched them snog. As it went on, and on, he started to feel a bit awkward and a bit of a voyeur, so he got his cuffs out and secured the prisoner. He then went down the ramp and opened the door. Gwen was standing on the walkway, stun gun in hand, looking at him in complete confusion.

 

“What the hell just happened?” she asked.

 

“I’m not too sure myself, but you’d better come in,” he said, holding out his hand. “John told me through my earpiece that it was Rose pulling me in.” He pulled Gwen into the TARDIS.

 

“Oh they’re at it again,” Gwen said with a smile.

 

“I know. Great isn’t it.”

 

John and Rose broke from their embrace and smiled at their team mates.

 

“Don’t stop on our account,” Gwen said with a cheeky grin.

 

“We didn’t,” Rose gasped. “I had to breathe.”

 

“Right, things to do,” John said going into manic mode. He ran to the console and operated the hyper wave transmitter.

 

“This is Dr. John Smith on the planet Earth, calling the Caxtarid scout ship that is about to attempt a rescue of Commander Kerra-Kashinkai.” He grinned at them and waggled his eyebrows.

 

“This is Captain Harrankai-Kosh. Where is the Commander?”

 

“Er, he’s a bit indisposed at the moment due to him having had seven bells knocked out of him by my wife. He is under arrest and will be delivered to the Shadow Proclamation very shortly for processing and trial.”

 

“What is the meaning of this?” the Captain said indignantly, wondering who had the audacity to arrest one of his commanders.

 

“The meaning is, I am one of a team of people who defend this planet, and we will not stand for this kind of covert attack. Now if you want to come with us and plead your case, feel free. They may just believe that you knew nothing about it.”

  
John’s voice took on that dangerous edge. “But if I were you, I’d run…. Run as fast as you can and tell others that you meet that the Earth is defended.”

 

He disconnected the call with a flourish and started the TARDIS on her way to the Shadow Proclamation. “Well, that told them! Come on Rose let’s get you to the Medi-bay and fix those cuts and bruises.”

 

“So Doc,” Jack started to ask as they walked through to the medi-bay. “How did you pull all of this off?”

 

“Well, the first part was down to Rose really, she suggested that we have a remote emergency protocol. On our way back from the UNIT warehouse, I rearranged the favourite destinations folder and attached a remote call protocol.”

 

They went into the medi-bay and he sat Rose up on one of the couches.

 

“We have favourites for our house, Tyler Mansion and Torchwood Standby Room, as well as some holiday destinations. Our smart phones and tablets have an app that will call the TARDIS to wherever we are at the time.” He ran some equipment over her body and checked the readings.

  
“When we left you on the roof we ran down into the street and called the TARDIS. Once inside, I was able to find a Caxtarid scout ship in the database and get the chameleon circuit to literally ‘shimmer’ the outer hull to disguise it. We flew it up to the roof, picked you up and here we are.”

 

A golden glow of nanogenes hovered over Rose’s body as they repaired her cuts and bruises. When they had finished, they returned to the handset and John kissed her on the cheek.

 

“There we are, good as new.”

 


	15. Loose ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor inadvertently gets himself on the News (which Jackie thinks is hilarious).
> 
> Pete gets a call from the BBC, and the Doctor, Rose, Jack and Gwen go after the stolen samples.
> 
> The Doctor gets worried when he finds out who wants the stolen samples.
> 
> Oh, and there's another cliffhanger.

****

** Chapter 15 **

  
  


The Odeon Leicester Square is a cinema which occupies the centre of the eastern side of Leicester Square in London, dominating the square with its huge black polished granite facade and 37 metre high tower displaying its name. Blue neon outlined the exterior of the building and a red carpet led from the street to the doors of the cinema.

 

It was the premier of a new blockbuster film, and the stars were on the red carpet having their photographs taken, signing autographs and being interviewed by various television crews.

 

Angelina Jolie, the female lead, was wearing a beautiful designer dress that complemented her figure, and the slit to the hip showed off one of her shapely legs. Her husband Brad was wearing a dinner suit and stood by her side, smiling for photographers as she was interviewed by ‘Entertainment Tonight’.

 

The news camera panned away to a sudden commotion, as four black uniformed soldiers ran up the red carpet and stopped at the doors to the cinema, just behind Angelina. One of them, a pretty blonde, was inspecting the display on a device she was holding.

 

“Has anyone seen an alien with metallic red hair and red, glowing eyes?” the soldier with brown, sticky up hair asked. The crowd laughed and Angelina turned from her interview to see what was going on.

 

“Over here John,” the blonde called from the doors. The two other soldiers had also reached the doors.

 

“You’re Angelina Jolie!” the spiky haired soldier said with an enormous grin. “Hello. I like the look of your new film.”

 

“Thank you,” she said politely.

 

“JOHN!” the blonde shouted.

 

“Oops. Got to go. Things to do, aliens to catch. It was nice to meet you.” He took a step towards the other soldiers and then turned back and kissed her on the cheek.

 

“Hope you don’t mind? Bit of a fan. Love the dress by the way, the leg and everything. Brilliant!”

 

“JOHN!”

 

“Coming!” He ran to the other soldiers and they entered the cinema.

 

“Jack, you’re a bad influence on ‘im,” the blonde said.

“What? I was only saying hello,” the spiky haired soldier could be heard saying as the doors closed behind them.

 

Jackie howled with laughter as she watched the rerun of the incident on the news, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Pete and Tony chuckled on the sofa next to her. The phone rang and Pete reached over to the small table to pick it up.

 

“Hello, Pete Tyler.”

 

“Mr. Tyler, its Christine Faulkner from the BBC. I don’t know if you remember me, I’m the production assistant for the Michael Parkinson show. I hope you don’t mind me calling you on this number.”

 

“Oh yes, I remember you. What can I do for you Miss Faulkner?”

 

“Well, I think you probably saw the news item involving your daughter and son-in-law today,” she said.

 

“My wife is still drying her eyes from the laughter,” he told her.

 

“Yes, it was rather amusing. Michael laughed his socks off when he saw it and he’d love them to come on his show. Is there anyway we could contact them to discuss it?”

 

“I don’t know if they would agree to it, they are very private people.”

 

“I remember, you told Michael that when you were on his show. However, I think if we assured them of our integrity and carefully scrutinised the questions, we may be able to convince them.”

 

“Well, I can certainly set up a meeting for you, but I can’t guarantee that they will speak to you. Come to my office at Torchwood tomorrow morning and I’ll introduce you.”

 

“That would be marvellous. Thank you very much Mr Tyler, I’ll see you at nine in the morning.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

“Morning people,” Andy said to the assemble Blue Watch in the Operations room. “A quiet night last night, with nothing to hand over from Black Watch. I think we would all like to say a big thank you to the Smiths, for an excellent operation to apprehend the Caxtarid fugitive, and some really entertaining news footage.”

 

The Watch cheered and applauded as Andy clicked the remote and the news footage played again on the large media screen. John hid his face in his hands.

 

“I didn’t know the cameras were on,” he groaned.

 

“Okay, quiet down,” Andy chuckled. “On the plus side Doc, Director Tyler is very pleased with the PR coverage. The President has already phoned to express her pleasure.”

 

He moved on to Rose’s fight with the Commander, the video of which John had uploaded from the TARDIS. Blue Watch whistled and cheered again.

 

“Now what was this Wife? You could have finished this fight much earlier and without taking so much damage,” Andy said with a stern face.

 

“Sorry Captain. In my defence though, he was alien and had no external genitalia. I had to adapt my tactics.”

 

“Mmm, alright I’ll give you that one. Watch and learn lads, a creative use of gymnastics here.” They saw Rose drop into the splits and all the men winced in sympathy.

 

“But this finishing kick….” he started as Rose jumped in.

 

“I’ve got no excuse for that one Captain. That was just showin’ off,” she admitted.

 

His stern face broke into a wide grin. “Was a beautifully executed finishing move on an opponent who was already defeated. I haven’t seen a fight like that since I was in a bar in Singapore.”

  
He clicked the remote. “Now onto the Caxtarid situation.”

 

Andy handed over to Jack. “Yesterday, I did some work on the satellite data and spotted the Jathaa delivering the stolen samples to the Sunglider using a shimmer to cover their movements.”

 

The images of Jack’s investigation were displayed on the screen. “When they left Wimbledon, the Sunglider made a stop off in Scotland before heading out into space. I contacted Torchwood Two to see if they could follow up on the Sungliders movements.”

 

Jack handed back to Andy “We had a call from Northern Constabulary in Inverness yesterday afternoon. Archie McTavish at Torchwood Two gave them Jack’s information and they found Linda Thomas sheltering in a church in the village of Timontoul.”

 

Andy turned to John for the next part. “Doc, we need your help finding that Jathaa Sunglider and recovering those samples so that they can be destroyed.”

 

“I’ll use the TARDIS to see which way they went and catch up with them,” John said.

 

“Good, take a team with you just in case they get a bit skittish.”

 

Andy clicked the remote again. “Ace and Giant, it’s your turn for a day at the seaside. An unusual object has been washed up on the beach at Lowestoft in Suffolk. Army Ordnance have asked us to have a look at it. Take a Mobile Investigation Unit and check it out.”

 

Andy ended the briefing and the team dispersed. John and Rose got ready to head back home with Jack, Gwen, Jake and Julia to collect the TARDIS and head after the Sunglider. They were in the Standby Room when Rose’s phone rang.

 

“Hi Dad, what’s up?” she asked. John watched her face as she listened to Pete and then she looked at John opened mouthed.

 

“Okay Dad, we’ll be right up.” She ended the call and smiled at John. “There’s a production assistant from the BBC in his office. She wants us to guest on Parkinson!”

 

A young blonde lady in a smart suit sat in one of the chairs in front of Pete’s desk. She stood and offered her hand as the pair entered.

 

“Good morning, I’m Christine Faulkner,” she announced with a friendly smile. Rose and John shook her hand as they said hello and everyone sat down.

 

“I’ll get straight to the point as Director Tyler has told me you are still on shift,” she started.

 

“Your popularity in the tabloids and the gossip magazines seems to indicate that the public have fallen in love with you, and the incident at Leicester Square yesterday reinforced this view. We feel that the tabloids don’t do you justice though. They are just looking for scandal and titillation. Our show would like to show the ‘real’ you and satisfy the public’s curiosity.” She smiled at them confidently.

 

Rose looked at Pete. “What do you think Dad?”

 

“It’s up to you and John,” he said leaning back in his chair.

 

“Like I’ve said before, the profilers in Psychology downstairs reckon that if the public knew all about you, the tabloids won’t be so eager to pester you.”

 

Rose looked at John. “Well?”

 

John looked first at Rose, who had a look of uncertainty, and then at Ms. Faulkner, who was looking at him expectantly.

 

“We are very private people Miss Faulkner, we never wanted to be famous or have recognition for what we do,” he told her.

 

“I understand that Dr. Smith, and Michael is very sympathetic to your desire for privacy, but a Nobel Peace Prize winner and recipients of the George Cross are very interesting to the public.”

 

She reached into her briefcase. “I have put together a number of topics based on our standard interview template. You are free to add or remove whatever you wish and then we could meet with Michael and discuss a final draft for the show. What do you say?”

 

John took the paperwork and looked at Rose. “I don’t suppose it would hurt to look over the topics.”

 

“Oh, and one other thing,” Christine said. “We may be able to get another husband and wife interview on the show with you.”

 

John and Rose both looked at her and raised their eyebrows in question.

 

“Angelina and Brad are still in town after the film premier and have agreed to guest on the show.”

 

Pete stood up and walked around his desk. “I’ll call HR and get you copies of the public information. One of the secretaries can take you down there now.”

 

Christine shook hands with everyone and left with Pete’s secretary. Pete put his arms around both of them.

 

“You two had better read all that information as well, you’ll need to be word perfect,” he chuckled.

 

“We haven’t agreed to do it yet,” John said.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

  
The Torchwood team entered the TARDIS and dropped their holdalls by the jump seats.

 

“I still get a kick out of this ship every time I come in here,” Julia said looking around.

 

“So what’s the plan Doc?” Jack asked as they gathered around the console.

 

“Well, we’re going to do something a bit naughty, but if we keep radio silence and don’t interact with the timeline we should be okay.”

 

Jack nodded, he knew what he was going to do. “You’re going to go back three days and watch the Jathaa, aren’t you?”

 

“Not me; Rose. C’mon Love, time to show off what you can do.”

 

Rose had a huge smile on her face. She loved flying the TARDIS. She activated the door lock mechanism and selected the 3-dimensional spatial coordinates that would put them in a geostationary orbit above London, with the temporal coordinates set for 50 hours in the past.

 

“We’re going to be watching the Jathaa as it was when it was parked on Wimbledon Common,” Rose explained to Jake, Gwen and Julia. “So there will be earlier versions of you down there, which will be fine as long as you don’t interact with them.”

 

She powered up the atom accelerator, released the time rotor handbrake, and activated the inertial dampers.

 

“So we are actually travelling through time?” Gwen said in wide eyed wonder.

 

“In a weird way you already are, because the TARDIS hasn’t even been built yet,” John said.

 

Rose engaged the harmonic generator, released the locking down mechanism and pulled the engine release lever. She looked up and grinned as she waggled her eyebrows just like her husband did.

 

Finally, she activated the materialise/dematerialise function, and gradually increased the space-time throttle as the time rotor started to pump up and down, taking them into the vortex.

 

“Okay, now we materialise in orbit.” She gradually decreased the space-time throttle and activated the harmonic generator to stop the TARDIS from drifting as it materialized. She activated the materialise/dematerialise function again and the time rotor stopped.

 

John activated the view screen and zoomed in on Wimbledon Common. They could see the Jathaa ship with police and bystanders moving around.

 

“It’s like watching the video replay,” Julia said. “But it’s actually happening now.”

 

“Oh, here we are, look at this,” John said. He zoomed in until you could make out the police officers numbers on their lapels.

 

“Oh my God, it’s me and Jack,” Gwen said as she saw them walking to the ship.

 

“Yeah,” Jack said. “It won’t be long now before they take off. Anyone want a cup of tea while we wait?”

 

They sat in the jump seats drinking tea and chatting when the Sunglider started to move.

 

“Ooh, here we go,” John said. He walked over and manipulated the viewing controls to follow the ship.

 

“There’s Linda Thomas,” Jake said as they saw her being left in a field on the outskirts of the village.

 

“Right Rose, you’re on again,” John said. Rose stood at the console and adjusted the 3-dimensional spatial coordinates and ‘flew’ the TARDIS to follow the Sunglider.

 

“Oh this is great,” she said. “I’ve not flown her through space before.”

 

“Really?” Julia asked. “You can’t tell. You’re a natural.”

 

John came beside her and looked at the console. “Anything else you can do to make it easier?”

 

Rose looked over the controls and heard the TARDIS singing to her, encouraging her.

 

“Ah, because we’re in 3-dimensional space, I can set the TARDIS to track the ship and she’ll follow it on her own,” she said with a proud smile.

 

“Good girl.” john kissed her on the cheek as she set the tracking device.

 

“Toast anyone?” John asked as he made his way to the kitchen.

 

They sat at the kitchen counter, spreading marmalade on some toast and drinking orange juice. The display screen was showing the Sunglider as it travelled ahead of them, scan data showing nothing ahead of them in the near distance.

 

“This could take a while,” John said as he finished his toast. “So I think we should cheat.”

 

They went back to the control room and John stood with Rose at the console. “What we’re going to do is jump through space along this course to just inside the limit of the scanner’s range until we find something.”

 

Rose gave him an excited smile. “Okay, let’s give it a go then.”

 

The TARDIS dematerialised from behind the Sunglider and materialised light years ahead of it. The scanner showed nothing ahead, so Rose jumped the TARDIS again.

 

This time, there was something behind them. It was big, quite close and heading away from them in the direction of the Jathaa.

 

“Now this looks promising,” John said. “Get us a bit closer Love so I can have a look.”

 

The time rotor pumped up and down as the TARDIS zoomed through 3-Dimensional space. Within minutes, a large spaceship filled the screen.

 

“Uh-oh. That’s not good,” John said.

 

“What is it John? Who are they?” Rose asked.

 

“That’s a Chelonian Battle Cruiser. We don’t want to be messing with them. Rose, take us back to the Jathaa.”

 

“What’s the problem Doc?” Jack asked as Rose fired up the TARDIS.

 

“Do you remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The comic books, the cartoon and the movies?” John asked them.

 

“Oh I remember them,” Julia said smiling. “Named after Italian painters and ate a lot of pizza.”

 

“Right. So that’s what they look like, but they’re three feet tall and more like Adult Cybernetic Alien Tortoises.” He stopped and looked thoughtful.

 

“Doesn’t quite scan the same, does it? Any-hoo, they’re a war-like race from the planet Chelonia who are hermaphroditic and lay eggs.”

 

“You said they’re cyborgs?” Jack said.

 

“Yeah. Some of their cybernetic enhancements include X-ray vision and improved hearing. Unfortunately, they consider humans to be parasites and often try to eliminate them, which I think explains their interest in the zombie bug.”

 

“And if the get their hands on it?” Jake asked.

 

“Well firstly, their ship isn’t called a battle cruiser for nothing. And secondly, as I said, they’re about three feet tall, which means that the rooms and corridors on the ship have low ceilings. That would put us at a distinct disadvantage in any operation to recover the samples, not to mention the strain on your legs and back having to crouch down.”

 

“So we get the samples from the more amenable Jathaa instead,” Gwen suggested.

 

“Exactly,” John said.

 

“There’s only one problem with that John,” Rose observed. “The TARDIS is taller than the inside of the Sunglider.”

 

“Standing up maybe, but watch and learn Wife. Watch and learn,” he said mysteriously as he operated the controls with his usual energetic flourish. The time rotor stopped pumping and he turned to face his crew.

 

“Now, when I open the doors, you may experience some nausea similar to motion sickness.”

 

He walked down the ramp and opened the usual left hand door (or right hand door looking from the outside).

 

He wasn’t kidding!

  
They appeared to be ‘parked’ against the left hand wall of the Sunglider Bridge. The weird thing was, the Jathaa were standing on the wall with their bodies pointing to the right. It just didn’t look right.

 

“Be careful when you exit the TARDIS, gravity out there is at 90 degrees to the gravity in here. It can make you dizzy like that party game where you put your head on a broom handle and spin around.”

 

“Okay. Thanks for the warning Doc,” Jack said.

 

“Face the door and lean against it, you can then roll out onto your back and sit up or kneel. Don’t try to stand straight away or you might fall over. Your human bodies aren’t designed for multipoint centres of gravity like Gallifreyan’s are.”

 

“I’ll go first,” Jack said. “They’ve seen me before; then Jake, Rose and Doc. Gwen and Julia can bring up the rear. Everyone ready? Let’s go.”

 

If the crew of the TARDIS thought they had it bad, the crew of the Sunglider had it worse. A long, wooden blue box had slowly appeared on the flight deck, with a flashing light at one end.

 

The crew backed away from it in fear, this did not look good. Then, a lower panel opened inwards to reveal soldiers in black uniforms standing sideways. The Captain stooped down to get a better look inside, and immediately wished he hadn’t. He saw a room that was far too big for the wooden box that was holding it.

 

One of the soldiers rolled across the panel, onto the flight deck and rose into a kneeling crouch with a weapon pointed right at him. Another soldier did the same and took the same stance by his side.

 

A blonde, female soldier leapt elegantly from the box, rolled across the floor and sprang to her feet with her gun aimed and ready to fire. The two kneeling soldiers looked up at her with what the Captain presumed was amazement.

 

“What?” she asked innocently, as she glanced down at them.

 

A tall, thin soldier with spiky hair rolled out, sprang to his feet and then sprang onto his bottom. He muttered something about inferior human physiology.

 

“Time Lord brain in a Chiswick Temp’s body! Isn’t that just splendid. It’s like putting a Formula One engine in a Model T Ford,” he complained. The blonde gave a single ‘tut’ and rolled her eyes.

 

Jack stood and walked forwards. “Hello Captain, remember me?”

  
“What? The man from Torchwood! But how?”

 

“You might want to ask why,” John said as he recovered his equilibrium and stood up. “We’ve been watching you Captain, and we know what you’ve been up to.”

 

Jack described his findings. “We know one of your crew took the place of a laboratory technician. We know they took four phials of a deadly pathogen that could destroy all human life on the planet. They were in a canister about so big.” Jack showed the size with his hands.

 

“Deadly? We were told it was a formula for prolonging life tenfold,” the Captain said.

 

“Yeah, the Chelonians would say that, wouldn’t they,” John said.

 

“We know that your crew member morphed into a police officer to cross the cordon. We know, to your credit that you dropped the lab technician off safe and sound before heading out into space,” Jack finished.

 

“Our mission is to retrieve the pathogen and destroy it by any means possible, even if it means the destruction of this vessel,” John said.

 

“NO! No, please. Lieutenant, fetch the canister from the safe. It is not what we were told it was. Please believe me, we meant no ill intent, we are just couriers.”

 

The Lieutenant brought the canister and held it out for his Captain.

 

“Let these people take it and dispose of it. I will be no part of a conspiracy to commit genocide.”

 

At the mention of genocide, Rose noticed that John went pale and looked nauseous. She walked over and took his hand in hers.

 

“Hey, you okay?” she asked him.

 

He wiped his hand down his face and breathed out. “Yeah. It’s just the mention of genocide; it sort of brought it all back.”

 

“But it wasn’t like you had a choice or anythin’, was it?” Rose said gripping his arm. “Not unless you call lettin’ all the civilisations in the universe be destroyed, a choice? Because I believe in you, and I know you would never let that happen. So c’mon, let’s get this stuff into the TARDIS and destroy it.”

 

John smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek, his morbid mood vanishing as quickly as it had arrived. As long as Rose believed in him, he could live with himself.

 

“Jack, hold the fort here while we go and verify the contents of the canister and destroy it would you?”

 

“Sure thing Doc.”

 

They watched them roll into the TARDIS and heard a muffled ‘oof’ from John as he fell over again.

 

“This is  getting embarrassing,” they heard him mutter. “Bloody Model T human body.”

 

A few minutes later, John and Rose rolled out of the TARDIS and sat crossed legged on the floor. He was nothing if not a quick learner.

 

“Well, that’s done,” he announced. “All the pathogen is now destroyed, so we can leave you to get on your way. I’d change course if I were you, the Chelonians are heading your way and I don’t think they’ll be too happy when they find out we’ve destroyed the samples.”

 

“Helm, set a course for home,” the Captain ordered.

 

The TARDIS crew walked back to the doors and sat down in preparation for entering their ship when an insistent beeping came from a control console.

 

“Captain, it appears we are too late. There is a large vessel approaching dead ahead.”

 

The TARDIS crew stood and walked over to the console with the Captain.

 

“Put it on the screen Lieutenant,” the Captain ordered. A view of the Chelonian Battle Cruiser could be seen bearing down on them.

 

“Captain, let me speak to them. I’d like to try and resolve this peacefully,” John said.

 

“Open a channel to the Chelonians,” the Captain said and nodded to John.

 

“Chelonian Battle Cruiser. I’m the Doctor, and I’m here as a representative of the planet Earth.”

 

A face appeared on the screen that looked very much like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, minus the eye mask.

 

“Doctor who?” the Chelonian asked.

 

“Just the Doctor. I know what you were trying to acquire, and I can tell you that I have destroyed it.”

 

“Destroyed it! What gives you the right to interfere in our business dealings?” the Chelonian Captain asked angrily.

 

“I am a defender of the Earth, and that gives me every right to stop a xenophobic sociopath like you. There is nothing for you here now, so turn around and go home.”

 

“We will not be ordered about by a troop of pathetic apes.”

 

“I’m warning you Captain, be careful. You only get one chance. Now turn around and GO HOME.”

 

“Hah! A Jathaa Sunglider is no match for this ship. If there is nothing here for us, then we will sterilize the area and be on our way. Tactical Officer! Prepare forward disruptors.”

 

“Captain, they are powering up their weapons,” the Lieutenant said.

  
On the bridge of the Chelonian Battle Cruiser, the tactical officer acquired the Sunglider target on his screen. Tactical data on size, composition, course and velocity were displayed alongside the computerised image.

 

“I WARNED YOU!” the spiky haired human shouted on the view screen.

 

“The disruptors are charged and ready to fire Sir.”

 

The Captain looked from the view screen to the officer.

 

“Destroy them,” he said without preamble.

  
A beam of intense white light emerged from the front of the Battle Cruiser and hit the Sunglider. A ball of white light expanded outwards, flaring on the view screen. When the glare died down, all that was left of the Sunglider was tumbling fragments of debris, like the embers of an impressive firework.

 


	16. Parkinson finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is it, the final chapter.
> 
> The Doctor deals with the bad guys and realises that Rose has worked her magic on him and made him a better person.
> 
> Rose helps Alistair to reconcile his work life with his social life.
> 
> And our reluctant celebrities finally do an interview.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

****

** Chapter 16 **

 

 

 

 

“I WARNED YOU!” John called out to the screen. “Quick Captain, get everyone into my ship. Everyone in the TARDIS. NOW!”

 

There was chaos as bodies rolled and gambolled through the open door and sprawled onto the TARDIS decking, arms, legs and bodies all tangled together like an intergalactic version of Twister. John saw a brilliant white light around the edge of the door as he kicked it shut.

 

The Jathaa were sitting on the floor eyes wide and mouths open.

 

“Your eyes aren’t deceiving you,” John said with a smile. “It is bigger on the inside.”

 

He ran up to the console and put the TARDIS into the vortex. “There, that should make it look as though we were destroyed along with the Sunglider. All I have to do now is lock on to their engine room.”

 

Rose saw he had that worrying look on his face. “John, what are you goin’ to do?” she asked in concern.

 

He looked at her and saw the worry on her face. His expression softened as he reassured her.

 

“Don’t worry Love; I’m not going to destroy them if that’s what you’re thinking. You’ve taught me to be better than that. I’m actually going to give them a second chance. I’m going to give them a choice.”

 

He worked the controls and the time rotor stopped pumping. He headed for the doors and took out his stun gun.

 

“Jack, Jake. I need you to cover me from the doors while I run across to the stellar resonator drive. It’ll only take a second.”

 

“You’ve got it,” Jake said as they joined him at the doors.

 

John darted out the doors, while Jack and Jake took covering positions. They heard a ‘ZAP-ZAP’ from across the engine room and the faint warbling whistle of a sonic screwdriver. In less than a minute, John was back inside and closing the door.

 

“I had to stun an engineer to do it, but I got it.” He held up a complex looking piece of machinery which looked a bit like an espresso machine.

 

“Is that a reflexive plasma conduit toroid?” Jack asked.

 

John gave him a manic grin. “The very same.”

 

“Oh that’s brilliant!” Jack said with an enormous smile.

 

“Why? What’s goin’ on?” Rose asked.

 

“I’ll show you,” John said as he opened up a communications channel to the bridge.

 

“Celonian Battle Cruiser Captain. It’s me again. I did warn you that you should go home, didn’t I? But no, you had to be all big and bad, and giving us your ‘mightier than thou’ attitude.”

 

“How is it that you are still alive? I destroyed the ship.”

 

“Welll. It’s sort of a ship within a ship, which became a ship within your ship,” John started to explain. “Within the engine room of your ship to be specific.”

 

He held up the part he had removed from the engine room. “Recognise one of these?”

 

“What are you doing with that?!” the Captain asked.

 

“I’m giving you a choice is what I’m doing with this. Without a reflexive plasma conduit toroid, your engines will start to destabilise, so I think you can guess what your choices are.” He looked at Rose, his face serious but not dangerous or out of control.

 

“You can make your way to this uninhabited planet, which you can reach before your engines explode.” He sent the coordinates from the TARDIS star charts. “Or you can sit here and try and fix it, in which case you will certainly die. Now I don’t really care, because either way, you are put out of action.”

 

He moved around the console and started the time rotor. “We’re going now Captain. Have a good life, however long that may be.”

 

Rose sidled up to him and put her arm around his waist. He looked down and put his arm around her shoulder.

 

“Was that alright?” he asked. He realised that at times like this, he needed her as his moral compass.

  
She smiled at him. “That was perfect. It’s their choice, their decision, their destiny.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

John and Rose had a quiet afternoon at Torchwood, typing up their reports on the whole zombie bug affair. The Jathaa had come back with them to Torchwood and were guests on the 32nd floor, which was a suite of apartments for visiting alien dignitaries, refugees, sightseers and travellers whose ships had developed a fault, or those who had simply gotten lost.

 

When John and Rose had their next three days off shift they would take them home and have a holiday at the same time.

 

A large envelope arrived for them from the BBC with a final list of proposed questions and topics for discussion on the show for their approval. They had ticked most of them, crossed out a couple, and added the topic of their roles at Torchwood.

 

“Well that’s it then,” Rose said. “Are we doin’ it then?

 

“If it means that they’ll leave us alone, then yeah, why not? Let’s do it,” he said with a grin.

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

#### Pete and Jackie had organized a ‘Parkinson’ party to view the interview that had been recorded a few weeks earlier.

#### Their cook had put on a spread for their friends to enjoy. Jack was there with his Torchwood partner Gwen, along with Jake and Sarah. Alice, and a few other non-Torchwood friends were there as well.

 

Rose noticed that Alice was on her own, and so went to find Alistair, who was in the kitchen polishing the cutlery.

 

“Alistair?” she called to him.

 

He turned in surprise and smiled. “Mrs. Smith, what are you doing in the kitchen? You’ll miss the show.”

 

“It’s Rose,” she told him. “We’re alone, and I’m looking for the boyfriend of my best friend. She invited him to a viewing party.”

 

“Ah, I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

 

Rose approached and stood in front of him. “And why is that,” she asked with a smile, she knew what he was going to say.

 

“Well, I’m an employee of Mr and Mrs. Tyler.”

 

Rose reached up and undid his tie.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked, slightly panicked.

 

“I’m takin’ off your tie. Now turn around.” She twirled her index finger to demonstrate how to turn around. Alistair let out a worried sigh and did as he was told.

 

Rose reached up and pulled his tailored jacket off his shoulders, carefully folding it and putting it over her arm. She knew how particular he was about his suits. He turned back to face her.

 

“There ya go, now you’re off duty. You’re no longer Alistair the House Manager; you’re Alistair the House Guest. And more importantly, you’re Alistair the boyfriend of my best friend, and by association that makes you my best friend as well.” She reached up and tenderly kissed him on the cheek.

 

“Now get a move on mister or we’ll miss my debut as a media celebrity.”

 

Extra sofas had been brought into the living room and people were filtering in from the dining room with plates of nibbles and their drinks.

 

“Alistair,” Jackie said in delight. “So glad you decided to come and join us.”

 

Alice looked over at the door in surprise, and saw him being brought in on Rose’s arm. She went over and pulled him into a kiss, before turning to Rose.

 

“How did you get him to come? He refused when I asked him.”

 

Rose gave her a tongue through the teeth smile. “Boss’s daughter privilege. I pulled rank.” She gave Alistair a wink and he cracked a smile.

 

#### Everyone found a seat in front of the wide screen plasma television on the wall. Tony sat on John’s lap on the comfy leather sofa next to Rose who was cradling EJ. A cheer went up as the music started.

#### Parky did his usual bit to camera at the start of the show.

#### “My first guests tonight are a husband and wife team that have achieved celebrity status over the last few years, yet they shun publicity. He is a Nobel Prize winning scientist and inventor. She is heiress to the Vitex fortune, and together they have been awarded the George Cross for bravery. Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm welcome to John and Rose Smith.”

#### The band started to play the theme, the audience applauded and there were a few whistles as John and Rose descended the stairs hand-in-hand.

#### John was wearing a casual jacket over a pale blue shirt and light trousers. Rose wore a figure hugging little black dress that complemented her fit body, and black high heeled shoes.

#### Parky shook John’s hand and kissed Rose’s cheek before they sat down. They held hands, trying to give each other reassurance and confidence. John would rather face an army of Daleks.

#### “Oh, Rose. Those makeup people have done your hair nice,” Jackie said, it was in loose ringlets and hung naturally, framing her face beautifully.

#### There was a chorus of ‘shhh’s’ from the room.

#### “That was quite a reception,” Parkinson said, looking at the audience in appreciation.

#### “Yeah, that’s quite a crowd you’ve got in tonight,” John joked, trying to calm his nerves.

“It’s great that people have been so nice to us, but we don’t get it! We’re just two people doin’ our job. It’s not like we’re Mulder and Scully or anything.” Rose said. That got a laugh from the audience.

 

#### “Well, since your sudden appearance on the scene, what was it, six years ago for you Rose and two for John, you’ve made quite an impact in the media. Shall we have a look and see why the public love you?”

#### Parky turned in his seat to look at the media screen at the back of the set. It started to show the footage of the film premier and John’s interaction with Angelina. When it finished, John was red with embarrassment and the crowd were cheering and whooping with laughter.

“I didn’t realise the cameras were rolling. That is SO embarrassing,” John said covering his face with his hand. The audience gently laughed, they were warming to this unassuming couple.

 

“So let me get this right,” Parky said as he referred to his notes. “You are Torchwood Special Operations Field Agents, and you were tracking down a dangerous alien that was hiding in the cinema.”

 

“Well, he was the fugitive responsible for the zombie incident, and had some dangerous weaponry,” Rose told him. “We had the tech that could capture him without puttin’ the public in danger.”

 

“And is that a normal day at the office for you two?” Parky asked light-heartedly.

 

“We don’t have normal days,” John said and the audience tittered. “We chase aliens one minute; look for missing people the next. We investigate reports of unusual phenomena, or assist the police using our high tech equipment. ”

 

“And a bit of fire rescue in your spare time. Ladies and gentlemen, have a look at this.”

 

The media screen showed video footage from a couple of years previously, when Blue Watch had attended a fire when returning from a field mission. John had rushed into the building and rescued a four year old by dropping her out of the window to Jake who was standing on the roof of their van.

 

There was an explosion and fireball that blew out the window. The studio audience gasped. Later footage showed a fireman climbing the ladder and John sticking his head out of the charred window. He climbed down the ladder and embraced Rose in a spectacular snog. The audience whistled and hooted their appreciation.

 

“That was just before we were married,” Rose said.

 

“Where did you find that from?” John asked with a grin.

 

#### “Our researchers came up with it. You’re quite the hero John,” Parky said and then focussed on Rose.

#### “If I can turn to you Rose, your sudden appearance six years ago took the tabloid press completely by surprise. Your parents did an amazing job of hiding you from the media.”

Rose gave him her winning smile. “Yeah, they didn’t want me growin’ up as an ‘it’ girl, y’know with all the problems associated with my Dad bein’ rich. So before Dad became a high profile entrepreneur, they enrolled me in the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.”

 

“And how did that go for you?” Parky asked light heartedly.

 

Rose looked slightly embarrassed. “Not good really. I’m not very academic and I feel a bit guilty about wastin’ Dad’s money.” The audience laughed and ‘ahh’d’.

 

#### “But you did meet your future husband there,” Parky suggested.

“Not at the college, no. It was in a nightclub of all things.” She looked at John and grinned, he then took up the story.

 

“There were a bunch of lads there who were drunk and started getting a bit aggressive with the doormen at the club. Rose came out of the ladies right into the middle of the altercation. I grabbed her hand and told her to run.” He was smiling at her and the camera picked up the look of love in their eyes.

 

“It was love at first sight for me,” she said. The audience ‘ahh’d’ again.

 

Parky took over the direction of the interview, steering it towards John.

 

“And you were working for the Unified Intelligence Taskforce at the time John, is that right?”

 

“Yes, I had been at CERN in Meyrin, inspecting the safety features of the new accelerator and had some time off. I went with some colleagues up to Rolle, where apparently students know how to have a good time.”

 

“And was it love at first sight for you?” Parky asked him.

 

“Well, to be honest, I was a bit wrapped up with my work, and I didn’t think a beautiful girl like her would be interested in a science geek like me. But we did arrange to meet up again. I mean, look at her, I’d have been daft not to go on a date with her.” There were whistles from the men in the audience.

 

“We went out again, and again, and again, and before I knew it I was head over heels.” They leaned towards each other and kissed.

 

“Oh you guys are just so damned cute,” Jack said in the lounge, as he had a swig of his beer.

 

“I think it’s so romantic,” Alice said as she hugged Alistair’s arm. “Especially after what they went through to find each other again. This story is brilliant.”

 

Parky took up the commentary again. “And yet you and your mother came back from Switzerland without him.”

 

“Yeah, that was agony for me,” Rose said. “John had an undercover mission for UNIT and it was too dangerous for him to contact me. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again.”

 

“John, perhaps you could take us through this part,” Parky suggested.

 

“A lot of it is still classified, but basically, a terrorist cell was trying to recruit scientists to create weapons of mass destruction. I managed to get myself hired and set out to gather as much intelligence as I could.”

 

“Good cover story,” Jack said. “Those guys at Torchwood have great imaginations.”

 

Back on the TV, John was continuing with his cover story. “If I had contacted Rose and the terrorists had found out, it could have put us both in danger. I couldn’t take that chance, so for three years I worked to foil their plans on my own.”

 

Parkinson was obviously impressed. “A real life secret agent then. And did this have anything to do with the stars going out?”

 

“Ah, no,” John said. “We can’t really talk about that, it’s classified as well. But I can tell you that a brilliant team of scientist, Torchwood agents and friends of ours pulled together to thwart an extraterrestrial plot to destroy our universe.”

 

“And you were reunited with Rose, and awarded the George Cross for your bravery.”

 

John and Rose looked at each other with embarrassed expressions on their faces.

 

“Yeah,” Rose said. “We don’t feel that we deserve them really. We were part of a large team; we accepted the award on their behalf.”

 

“In fact, the awards are on a dedication plaque at Torchwood with the names of all the team that were involved,” John said.

 

“So moving on, let’s talk about your wedding. A celebrity wedding without the paparazzi, how did you manage that?” The pictures that they had released to the press were on the media screen.

 

“We wanted a private wedding, but Mum and Dad have lots of high profile friends and colleagues,” Rose started.

 

“Wasn’t President Jones on the guest list?” Parky asked.

 

“Yeah, so Dad hired this castle in Somerset that was easy to keep the media out of. We bussed everyone in and they had a great time, includin’ the President.”

 

“Although we’re not allowed to tell you that,” John said with a grin. Parky and the audience laughed again.

 

“And then last year you had a new arrival.” A picture of EJ was on the media screen. John and Rose had proud smiles on their faces. The audience ‘ahhh’d’ once again.

 

“Eyulf’s an unusual name, how did you decide on that?”

 

“It’s Norwegian for ‘Lucky Wolf’,” Rose said. “The word ‘Wolf’ has played a big part in our lives since John and I met and we wanted his name to reflect that.”

 

Parky smiled at them. “There are plenty of Smiths in the world, but there can’t be many Eyulf’s.”

 

“That’s what we thought,” John said. “It makes an ordinary name extraordinary, and we think he’s extraordinary.” The audience applauded again.

 

Parky started to wind up the interview. “Well thank you for sharing all that with us, and long may you continue to protect us from aliens and unexplained phenomena.” He looked at the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, John and Rose Smith.” As the audience cheered and applauded, Parky leaned forward to talk to them.

 

“Nice interview, well done.”

 

 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

 

 

It was 16:00 and the start of six days of evening shifts for Blue Watch. They were gathered around the media screens in the operations Room, waiting for the briefing.

 

“Right people, listen up,” Andy said as he called the briefing to order.

 

“Before we start, I think we should say a big well done to Doc and The Wife for their interview on Parkinson on Saturday night.” The room filled with applause and cheers. John and Rose looked suitably embarrassed.

 

“This has been a tremendous PR success and raised our profile with the public. We’ve had a number of calls, emails and letters of congratulations from a lot of famous and important people.”

 

Andy clicked the remote and started the briefing.

 

“Last night, there were reports of strange lights in the skies over Derbyshire. Black Watch went up there today and talked to eye witnesses, took photos and scanned the area for unusual radiation signatures.”

 

The media screen showed the data on the screen.

 

“Irish,  Welsh, Bart and John Boy, I want you to go over the data and take the airship up to Derbyshire to see if there is anything to worry about. Is it sinister, or are Teasers just scaring the locals.” Teasers were alien chavs that liked to buzz unsuspecting communities with their ‘hot rod’ ships for fun. They were usually responsible for the people who claimed to have been abducted and probed by aliens. They think it’s hilarious.

 

Andy clicked the remote for the second item.

 

“Peg, Van, Giant and Ace. There has been a report from a farmer in the Cotswolds of mutilations of some of his flock of sheep. Take a zoologist from Animal Management and see if you can find out what’s going on.”

 

He clicked the remote for the third item.

 

“The last item you may have seen on the news today and is an excellent opportunity for our new celebrities.” Andy had a big grin on his face.

 

“There’s an Orca swimming up the Thames and they don’t seem to be able to turn it around. Doc, can you take your team down to Lambeth Pier and have a chat with this creature, see what he wants. If he’s lost, see if you can give him directions.”

 

‘Oh wow,’ Rose thought. Lambeth Pier was the place where they first arrived in this universe in 2007. She looked over at John and realised that he was thinking the same thing.

 

“He’s Dr. Smith, not Dr. Dolittle,” Jack said jokingly. John screwed up a piece of paper and threw it at him while laughing with the rest of the Watch.

 

“I’ll need my scuba gear so I can get close and link minds,” John said.

 

“Good. There’ll be a police launch waiting to take you out. Alright people, why can I still see your faces?” Andy said with a grin. “There’s work to be done. Let’s shake those tails and get a move on.”

 

The members of Blue Watch stood up and started to congregate in front of John and Rose. Something was up, they could sense a conspiracy. They were all grinning and looking decidedly mischievous.

 

“Okay, what’s going on?” John asked.

 

Jack took an MP3 player out of his uniform pocket and pressed play. The theme from ‘Ghostbusters’ started playing.

 

“When there’s somethin’ strange, in your neighbourhood,” they started singing. “Who yer gonna call? DOC AND WIFE!”

 

“When there’s somethin’ weird an’ it don’t look good, who yer gonna call? DOC AND WIFE!”

 

“Just when we thought being a celebrity couldn’t get any worse,” John laughed. “Our own team turns on us.”

 

Rose was laughing and applauding the joke. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

 

Everyone laughed and started to move out of the room. It was the start of just another shift in a day of the Torchwood Special Operations Unit.

  
  
  
** The End **

 

 


End file.
